Eucalyptus crucis
| Silver mallee | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Eucalyptus |
| Species: | E. crucis |
| Binomial name | |
| Eucalyptus crucis Maiden | |
Eucalyptus crucis, commonly known as the silver mallee, is a eucalypt that is native to Western Australia.[1]
The mallee typically grows to a height of 2 to 15 metres (7 to 49 ft) and has red-brown-grey minni ritchi[1] type bark which curls and peels to expose lighter coloured bark underneath. It blooms between September and March producing white-cream flowers. The small tree with silvery coloured foliage and a multi-stemmed mallee habit. It grows to a width of 4 to 10 metres (13 to 33 ft).[2] The inflorescences have a capsular disc with a very incurved rim. The adult leaves are rather thick, very shortly petiolate, from lanceolate to nearly ovoid and ovoid-lanceolate in shape.[3]
It is found in a area in the Goldfields-Esperance and Wheatbelt region of Western Australia where it grows in sandy, clay or loam soils amongst granite outcrops.[1] The tree is associated with sheoak (Allocasuarina), wattle (Acacia) and One-sided Bottlebrush (Calothamnus).[3] It is frost and drought tolerant and is suitable for alkaline soils. Commonly used as a windbreak, street tree, decorative fruit, erosion control, honey producing plant and a bird nesting plant.[2]
There are three known subspecies:
- Eucalyptus crucis Maiden subsp. crucis, commonly known as the Southern Cross mallee[3]
- Eucalyptus crucis subsp. lanceolata Brooker & Hopper (1982), commonly known as the narrow-leaved silver mallee
- Eucalyptus crucis subsp. praecipua Brooker & Hopper (1993), commonly known as the Paynes Find mallee[3]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 "Eucalyptus crucis". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
- 1 2 "Eucalyptus crucis – Silver Mallee". Gardening with Angus. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 "Approved Conservation Advice for Eucalyptus crucis subsp. crucis (Silver Mallee)" (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. 16 December 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2017.