Eucalyptus mannensis

Eucalyptus mannensis, commonly known as Mann Range mallee,[2] is a species of mallee that is native to Western Australia, South Australian and the Northern Territory. It has rough bark at the base of the trunk, smooth bark above, narrow lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, creamy white flowers and hemispherical fruit.

flower buds
fruit

Mann Range mallee
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species:
E. mannensis
Binomial name
Eucalyptus mannensis

Description

Eucalyptus mannensis is a mallee, rarely a straggly tree, that typically grows to a height of 2–10 m (6 ft 7 in–32 ft 10 in) and forms a lignotuber. It has rough, flaky or fibrous bark on the lower part of the trunk, smooth greyish bark above. Young plants and coppice regrowth have dull, greyish green, lance-shaped leaves that are 45–85 mm (1.8–3.3 in) long and 8–20 mm (0.31–0.79 in) wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of glossy green on both sides, narrow lance-shaped to narrow elliptical, 65–115 mm (2.6–4.5 in) long and 7–23 mm (0.28–0.91 in) wide, tapering to a petiole 7–20 mm (0.28–0.79 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of seven, nine or eleven on an unbranched peduncle 3–10 mm (0.12–0.39 in) long, the individual buds on pedicels 1–5 mm (0.039–0.197 in) long. Mature buds are oval, 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide with a conical or rounded operculum. Flowering occurs from April to October and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody, hemispherical capsule 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) long and 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) wide.[2][3][4][5]

Taxonomy and naming

Eucalyptus mannensis was first formally described in 1964 by Cliff Boomsma from a specimen collected on Angas Downs Head Station. The description was published in Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia.[6][7]

In 1992, Lawrie Johnson and Ken Hill described two subspecies and the names have been accepted by the Australian Plant Census:[8]

  • Eucalyptus mannensis Boomsma subsp. mannensis[9] has glossy adult leaves, the largest of which are usually more than 12 mm (0.47 in) wide;
  • Eucalyptus mannensis subsp. vespertina L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill[10] has adult leaves that are dull at first, the largest adult leaves less than 12 mm (0.47 in) wide.[8]

Distribution and habitat

Mann Range mallee grows on plains and dunes in open shrubland and has a wide distribution in the central ranges of Australia, including in South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. There are also disjunct populations in the Great Victoria Desert, near Wiluna and near Shark Bay. Subspecies vespertina is restricted to near-coastal areas between the Murchison River and Shark Bay.[4][3]

Conservation status

Both subspecies of E. mannensis are classified as "not threatened" in Western Australia by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.[11][12]

See also

References
  1. "Eucalyptus mannensis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  2. "Eucalyptus mannensis". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  3. "Eucalyptus mannensis subsp. mannensis". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  4. Chippendale, George M. "Eucalyptus mannensis". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  5. Nicolle, Dean (2013). Native Eucalypts of South Australia. Adelaide: Dean Nicolle. pp. 52–53. ISBN 9780646904108.
  6. "Eucalyptus mannensis". APNI. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  7. Boomsma, Clifford David (1964). "A Descriptiio of a new mallee species of Eucalyptus from Central Australia". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 88: 115–116. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  8. Johnson, Lawrence A.S.; Hill, Kenneth D. (1992). "Systematic studies in the eucalypts - 5. New taxa and combinations in Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) in Western Australia". Telopea. 4 (4): 599–601.
  9. "Eucalyptus mannensis subsp. mannensis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  10. "Eucalyptus mannensis subsp. vespertina". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  11. "Eucalyptus mannensis subsp. mannensis". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  12. "Eucalyptus mannensis subsp. vespertina". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
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