Eucalyptus exserta

Eucalyptus exserta, commonly known as Queensland peppermint,[2] peppermint, bendo,[3] yellow messmate or messmate, is a species of tree or a mallee and is endemic to eastern Australia. It has hard, fibrous bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and hemispherical or cup-shaped fruit.

Queensland peppermint
Eucalyptus exserta growing near Gogango, Queensland
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species:
E. exserta
Binomial name
Eucalyptus exserta
Synonyms[1]
  • Eucalyptus exserta F.Muell. var. exserta
  • Eucalyptus exserta var. parvula Blakely
  • Eucalyptus insulana F.M.Bailey
  • Eucalyptus teretecornis var. insulana Grimwade
E. exserta flowers and buds
E. exserta capsules

Description

Eucalyptus exserta can grow as a mallee to a height of 5 metres (16 ft) or as a tree to 20 metres (66 ft) and forms a lignotuber. It has hard, rough, fissured, fibrous grey bark, usually from the base to the small branches. The slightly glossy to dull usually green adult leaves are arranged alternately, narrow lance-shaped to lance-shaped, 65–180 mm (2.6–7.1 in) long and 7–27 mm (0.28–1.06 in) wide on a petiole 8–20 mm (0.31–0.79 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of seven on an unbranched peduncle 6–20 mm (0.24–0.79 in) long, the individual buds on pedicels 2–7 mm (0.079–0.276 in) long. Mature buds are oval, 7–11 mm (0.28–0.43 in) long and 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) wide with a conical operculum. Flowering has been recorded in January, May and December and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, hemispherical or cup-shaped capsule 2–7 mm (0.079–0.276 in) long and 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) wide with a raised disc and exserted valves.[4][5]

Taxonomy and naming

Eucalyptus exserta was first formally described in 1859 by the Victorian state botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Botany.[6][7] The species name is from the Latin word exsertus meaning exserted, referring to the valves of the fruit.[5]

Distribution and habitat

The species is found on stony rises and hills throughout much of central, southern and eastern[3] Queensland,[2] from around Charleville area east to the coast and then extending north to Mareeba. It is also found in a small area of northern New South Wales in the Bebo State Forest.[5] E. exserta grows in infertile sandy soils as part of dry sclerophyll woodland communities.[4]

Ecology

It is a host tree for the mistletoe species Amyema miquelii, Dendrophthoe glabrescens and Dendrophthoe homoplastica.[8]

The leaves of the tree are a food source for koalas.[3]

Cultivation and uses

E. exserta is a profuse flowerer and is of some importance as food for honeybees. It can be grown as a shade or windbreak tree on farms in areas where it is native, growing best on soils with good drainage.[9] E. exserta plantations were established in Guangdong Province in China to halt soil erosion in the early 1960s.[10][11]

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See also

References
  1. "Eucalyptus exserta". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  2. "Queensland peppermint – Eucalyptus exserta". WetlandInfo. Department of Environment and Science, Queensland. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  3. "Eucalyptus exserta". Austrahort. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  4. K.Hill. Eucalyptus~exserta "New South Wales Flora Online: 'Eucalyptus exserta'". Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.
  5. "Factsheet – Eucalyptus exserta". Euclid. CSIRO. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  6. "Eucalyptus exserta". APNI. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  7. von Mueller, Ferdinand (1859). "Monograph of the Eucalypti of tropical Australia". Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Botany. 3: 84. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  8. Downey, Paul O. (1998). "An inventory of host species for each aerial mistletoe species (Loranthaceae and Viscaceae) in Australia" (PDF). Cunninghamia. 5 (3): 685–720. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2013.
  9. Elliot, Rodger W.; Jones, David L.; Blake, Trevor (1992). Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation: Vol. 4: Eu-Go. Port Melbourne: Lothian Press. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-85091-213-5.
  10. Yu Zuo Yue; Wang Zhu Hao; He Shao Yi (1994). "Rehabilitation of eroded tropical coastal land in Guangdong, China". Journal of Tropical Forest Science. JSTOR. 7 (1): 28–38. JSTOR 43581790.
  11. Zheng Haishui (1987). "The Role of Eucalyptus Plantations in Southern China" (PDF). Multipurpose Tree species for small farm use. Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development.
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