''Eucalyptus virens'', commonly known as the shiny-leaved ironbark,
is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Queensland. It has hard
ironbark
Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the genus ''Eucalyptus'' that have dark, deeply furrowed bark.
Instead of being shed annually as in many of the other species of ''Eucalyptus'', the dead bark accum ...
on the trunk and branches, narrow lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and hemispherical fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus virens'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of and forms a
lignotuber
A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a respons ...
. It has rough, grey to black, furrowed ironbark on its trunk and branches. Young plants and
coppice
Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...
regrowth have glossy green, lance-shaped leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of glossy green on both sides, narrow lance-shaped, long and wide, tapering to a
petiole
Petiole may refer to:
*Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem
*Petiole (insect anatomy)
In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...
long. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets in groups of seven on a branched
peduncle long, the individual buds on
pedicels
In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branch ...
long. Mature buds are oval, long and wide with a conical to rounded
operculum. Flowering has been recorded in February and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, hemispherical
capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus virens'' was first formally described in 1987 by
Ian Brooker
Murray Ian Hill Brooker Order of Australia, AM (2 June 1934 – 25 June 2016), better known as Ian Brooker, was an Australian botanist. He was widely recognised as the leading authority on the genus ''Eucalyptus''.
Ian Brooker was born in Adelai ...
and
Anthony Bean
Anthony Russell Bean (born 1957) is an Australian botanist who works at the Queensland Herbarium and Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha. Since 1982, he has led the Eucalyptus Study Group of the Society for Growing Australian Plants.
Caree ...
in the journal ''
Brunonia'' from specimens collected near
Injune in 1975.
The
specific epithet
In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...
(''virens'') is a
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word meaning "green", referring to the bright green leaves.
Distribution and habitat
The shiny-leaved ironbark grows in open forest on sandy soil on flats and undulating country. It is only known from three small populations near the
Maranoa River,
Tara and
Inglewood Inglewood may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Inglewood, Queensland
* Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area
*Inglewood, South Australia
*Inglewood, Victoria
*Inglewood, Western Australia
Canada
* Inglewood, Ontario
*Inglewoo ...
in south-eastern Queensland.
Conservation status
This eucalypt is classified as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government ''
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...
'' and the Queensland Government ''
Nature Conservation Act 1992
The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota.
As originally published, it prov ...
''. The main threats to the species are timber harvesting and habitat loss due to land clearing.
See also
*
List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15356612
Trees of Australia
virens
Myrtales of Australia
Flora of Queensland
Taxa named by Ian Brooker
Plants described in 1987
Endemic flora of Queensland
Taxa named by Anthony Bean