Eucalyptus castrensis

Eucalyptus castrensis, commonly known as Singleton mallee[2] or Pokolbin mallee box,[3] is a species of mallee that is endemic to a small area of New South Wales in eastern Australia. It has mostly smooth bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped fruit.

Singleton mallee
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species:
E. castrensis
Binomial name
Eucalyptus castrensis

Description

Eucalyptus castrensis is a mallee that typically grows to a height of 8 metres (26 ft). It has smooth bronze-grey bark but older stems sometimes have a collar of rough bark near the base. Young plants have dull bluish green, egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves that are 60–115 mm (2–5 in) long and 15–40 mm (0.6–2 in) wide. Adult leaves are glossy green, lance-shaped, 60–130 mm (2–5 in) long, 8–22 mm (0.3–0.9 in) wide on a petiole 4–15 mm (0.2–0.6 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of seven on a peduncle 7–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long, the individual buds on a pedicel 1–5 mm (0.039–0.197 in) long. Mature buds are oval, 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long and 2–4 mm (0.079–0.16 in) wide with a conical operculum. Flowering has been observed in August and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped capsule, 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) wide with the valves well below the rim.[4][5][6]

Taxonomy and naming

Eucalyptus castrensis was first formally described in 2002 by Ken Hill from a specimen collected on the Singleton Army Base and the description was published in the journal Telopea''.[7] The specific epithet (castrensis) is derived from the Latin word castra meaning "camp"[8]: 350  with the suffix -ensis meaning "of" or "from",[8]: 38  referring to the occurrence of this eucalypt in the grounds of an army base.[5]

Distribution and habitat

Singleton mallee is only known from a single dense stand on an army base near Singleton where it grows on a low, broad sandstone ridge.[2]

Conservation status

This eucalypt is listed as "endangered" under the New South Wales Government Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.[2]

References
  1. "Eucalyptus castrensis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  2. "Singleton mallee - profile". New South Wales Government Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  3. Bell, Stephen; Rockley, Christine; Llewellyn, Anne (2019). Flora of the Hunter Region : endemic trees and larger shrubs. CSIRO. p. 46. ISBN 9781486311033.
  4. Hill, Ken. "Eucalyptus castrensis". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  5. Hill, Kenneth D.; Stanberg, Leonie C. (2002). "Eucalyptus castrensis (Myrtaceae), a new species from New South Wales". Telopea. 9 (4): 773–775. doi:10.7751/telopea20024016.
  6. "Eucalyptus castrensis (a tree) - endangered species listing". New South Wales Government Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  7. "Eucalyptus castrensis". APNI. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  8. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
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