Eucalyptus oldfieldii
{{Short description|Species of eucalyptus}}
{{speciesbox
|name = Oldfield's mallee
|image = Eucalyptus oldfieldii.jpg
|image_caption = Eucalyptus oldfieldii in the Die Hardy Range
|status =
|status_system =
|genus = Eucalyptus
|species = oldfieldii
|authority = F.Muell.{{cite web|title=Eucalyptus oldfieldii|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/114577|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=19 November 2019}}
|synonyms =
- Eucalyptus oldfieldi F.Muell. orth. var.
- Eucalyptus oldfieldii F.Muell. var. oldfieldii
}}
File:Eucalyptus oldfieldii buds.jpg
Eucalyptus oldfieldii, commonly known as Oldfield's mallee,{{FloraBase|name=Eucalyptus oldfieldii|id=5725}} is a species of mallee or tree that is endemic to Western Australia. It has a sprawling or spreading habit, mostly smooth greyish or brownish bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three, white flowers and conical, cup-shaped or hemispherical fruit.
Description
Eucalyptus oldfieldii is mallee or tree with a sprawling, spreading habit, typically grows to a height of {{cvt|2-6|m}} and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth, mottled greyish or brownish bark, often with ribbons of imperfectly shed bark near the base. Young plants and coppice regrowth have dull greyish green, broadly lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves that are {{cvt|60-120|mm}} long and {{cvt|10-35|mm}} wide. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, the same shade of dull green to greyish green on both sides, lance-shaped, {{cvt|63-115|mm}} long and {{cvt|9-25|mm}} wide, tapering to a petiole {{cvt|12-28|mm}} long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of three on an unbranched peduncle {{cvt|1-11|mm}} long, the individual buds sessile or on pedicels up to {{cvt|5|mm}} long. Mature buds are spherical to oval, slightly ribbed, {{cvt|12-22|mm}} long and {{cvt|9-15|mm}} wide with a rounded to flattened operculum that has a prominent beak. Flowering occurs between May and October and the flowers are white or creamy white. The fruit is a woody, conical to cup-shaped or hemispherical capsule {{cvt|5-12|mm}} long and {{cvt|10-12|mm}} wide with the valves protruding above the rim. The seeds are pyramid-shaped, brown to pale grey-brown, {{cvt|1.5-3|mm}} long.{{cite web|url=https://apps.lucidcentral.org/euclid/text/entities/eucalyptus_oldfieldii.htm|title=Eucalyptus oldfieldii|access-date=31 May 2020|work=Euclid|publisher=CSIRO}}{{cite web |last1=Chippendale |first1=George M. |title=Eucalyptus oldfieldii |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Eucalyptus%20oldfieldii |publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra |access-date=19 November 2019}}
Taxonomy and naming
Eucalyptus oldfieldii was first formally described by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1860 in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae.{{cite web|title=Eucalyptus oldfieldii|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/455879|publisher=APNI|access-date=19 November 2019}} The name of the species honours Augustus Frederick Oldfield who collected the type specimen near the Murchison River.{{cite book |last1=von Mueller |first1=Ferdinand |title=Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae |date=1860 |publisher=Victorian Government Printer |location=Melbourne |page=37 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/7219#page/40/mode/1up |access-date=19 November 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://www.eoas.info/biogs/P000681b.htm|title=Oldfield, Augustus Frederick|year=2010|work=Biographical entry|publisher=Encyclopedia of Australian Science|access-date=26 December 2010}}
Distribution and habitat
Conservation status
This eucalypt is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.