Eucalyptus piperita

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Sydney Peppermint
Eucalyptus piperita, Melbourne
Eucalyptus piperita, Melbourne
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species: E. piperita
Binomial name
Eucalyptus piperita

Eucalyptus piperita, commonly known as Sydney Peppermint and Urn-fruited Peppermint,[1] is a small to medium forest tree native to New South Wales, Australia.

Contents

[edit] Description

It has grey, rough and finely fibrous bark on its trunk, but its branches are smooth and white. Adult leaves are dull blue-green and often oblique. Bright yellow-green flowers are borne in clusters of seven or more in late spring to mid summer. Fruit is urceolate (urn shaped) to barrel shaped.[2], especially on the sides of valleys.[3]

[edit] Taxonomy

Plate 23 of John White's Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales, showing leaves and fruit of E. piperita (Only the centre and right images portray E. piperita; the fruit on the left was later shown to be E. capitellata.)
Plate 23 of John White's Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales, showing leaves and fruit of E. piperita (Only the centre and right images portray E. piperita; the fruit on the left was later shown to be E. capitellata.)

Specimens of E. piperita were first collected by First Fleet surgeon and naturalist John White, and published by James Edward Smith in his appendix to White's 1790 Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales. Smith gave it the specific epithet piperita because its odour of its essential oil was so similar to that of Mentha × piperita, the peppermint. White's Voyage also featured a plate showing the plant's leaves and old fruit, but no flowers.[4]

Smith's description was republished in his 1793 A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland,[5] but this did not stop Richard Anthony Salisbury publishing the same plant as Metrosideros aromatica in 1796. Other later synonyms include:[6]

  • Eucalyptus aromatica (Salisb.) Domin
  • Eucalyptus bottii Blakely
  • Eucalyptus piperita Sm. var. piperita
  • Eucalyptus piperita Sm. subsp. piperita
  • Eucalyptus piperita var. laxiflora Benth.
  • Eucalyptus piperita subsp. urceolaris (Maiden & Blakely) L.A.S.Johnson & Blaxell
  • Eucalyptus urceolaris Maiden & Blakely


[edit] Uses

First Fleet surgeon, John White, distilled E.piperiata leaves for their oil, and this is the first time that eucalyptus oil is recorded to have been distilled. White's assistant, Denis Considen, who was familiar with English peppermint, said E.piperita oil was "...much more efficacious in removing all cholicky complaints".[7]

[edit] Distribution and habitat

Distribution of E. piperita
Distribution of E. piperita

E. piperita occurs in the tablelands and coastal areas of central and southern New South Wales,[2], especially on the sides of valleys.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Australian Plant Common Name Database. Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
  2. ^ a b Brooker, M. I. H. and Kleinig, D. A. (2001). Field Guide to Eucalyptus. Melbourne: Bloomings. 
  3. ^ a b Beadle, N. C. W., O. D. Evans and R. C. Carolin (1972). Flora of the Sydney Region. Terrey Hills, Sydney: Reed. ISBN 0 589 07086 X. 
  4. ^ White, John (1790). Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales. 
  5. ^ Smith, James Edward (1793). A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland. London: James Sowerby. 
  6. ^ Eucalyptus piperita Sm.. Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  7. ^ Boland, D.J., Brophy, J.J., and A.P.N. House, Eucalyptus Leaf Oils, 1991, ISBN 0-909605-69-6