Angophora inopina

Angophora inopina, commonly known as the Charmhaven apple,[2] is a species of small, often multi-stemmed tree that is endemic to the Central Coast of New South Wales. It has rough bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, white or creamy white flowers and ribbed, cup-shaped fruit.

Charmhaven apple
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (EPBC Act)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Angophora
Species:	A. inopina
Binomial name
Angophora inopina K.D.Hill[1]
Synonyms[1]
Eucalyptus inopina (K.D.Hill) Brooker

Description

Angophora inopina is a tree, often multi-stemmed, that typically grows to a height of 8 m (26 ft) and forms a lignotuber. It has greyish, fibrous bark on the trunk and branches. Young plants and coppice regrowth have more or less sessile, egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves that are 40–70 mm (1.6–2.8 in) long, 15–30 mm (0.59–1.18 in) wide and arranged in opposite pairs. Adult leaves are also arranged in opposite pairs, leathery, usually glossy green but paler on the lower side, lance-shaped or curved, 45–120 mm (1.8–4.7 in) long and 8–30 mm (0.31–1.18 in) wide on a petiole 4–15 mm (0.16–0.59 in) long. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets in groups of three or seven on a bristly, branched peduncle 3–27 mm (0.12–1.06 in) long, the individual buds on pedicels 7–12 mm (0.28–0.47 in) long. Mature buds are globe-shaped, 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) long and wide with white or creamy white petals that are 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long and wide with a green keel. Flowering has been observed in December and the fruit is a bristly, cup-shaped capsule 6–13 mm (0.24–0.51 in) long and 9–15 mm (0.35–0.59 in) wide with longitudinal ribs and the valves enclosed in the fruit.[2][3][4][5]

Taxonomy and naming

Angophora inopina was first formally described in 1997 by Ken Hill from specimens collected near Charmhaven in the same year.[5][6] The specific epithet (inopina) is from the Latin inopinatus, meaning "unexpected", referring to the occurrence of this previously undescribed species near Sydney.[5][7]

Distribution and habitat

Charmhaven apple grows sandy soil over sandstone in woodland with a dense, shrubby understorey. It has a patchy distribution from Lake Macquarie to near the Hunter River and is most common in the Wyong and Lake Macquarie local government areas.[2][4][8][9]

Conservation status

This eucalypt is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and the New South Wales Government Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. The main threats to the species are habitat loss and fragmentation, changes to the water table, frequent fires, trampling and competition from weeds.[8]

References

1. "Angophora inopina". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
2. "Charmhaven Apple - profile". New South Wales Government Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
3. "Angophora inopina". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
4. Hill, Ken. "Angophora inopina". Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
5. Hill, Kenneth (8 July 1997). "New species in Angophora and Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) from New South Wales". Telopea. 7 (2): 97–99. doi:10.7751/telopea19971000.
6. "Angophora inopina". APNI. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
7. Francis Aubie Sharr (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings. Kardinya, Western Australia: Four Gables Press. p. 224. ISBN 9780958034180.
8. "Approved Conservation Advice for Angophora inopina" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
9. Bell, Stephen A.J. (2004). "Distribution and habitat of the vulnerable tree species, Angophora imopina (Myrtaceae), on the Central Coast of New South Wales". Cunninghamia. 8 (4): 477–484. Retrieved 9 March 2020.