Botanical art
Prior names
Eucalyptus ceratocorys
Etymology
Eucalyptus from the Greek 'eu' meaning well and 'calyptos' meaning covered; alluding to the cap or lid which covers the stamens in the bud. Capitanea from the Latin 'capitaneus' meaning head, chief; referring to the larger size of the leaves, buds and fruits compared to E. incrassata.
Distribution and status
Endemic to South Australia and restricted to an area north of Ceduna, growing on deep red sand on the crests and sides of sand dunes in mallee. Native. Rare in South Australia.
Herbarium regions: Nullarbor, Eyre Peninsula
NRM regions: Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Multi-stemmed mallee to 7 m tall will rough, loose, ribbony to flaky, pale yellow-brown to grey lower stems and smooth, reddish to grey to cream upper stems. Juvenile leaves ovate to lanceolate, dull, blue-green becoming glossy green. Adult leaves to 130 mm long and 45 mm wide, firm, lanceolate to broad-lanceolate, glossy, green. Flowers axillary in umbel with 7 flowers. Buds to 22 mm long and 1 mm wide, distinctly ribbed, bud-cap conical to beaked about the same length or shorter than the bud-base. Flowers cream. Fruits are woody urn-shaped fruit to 22 mm long and 15 mm wide, distinctly ribbed, disc descending, valves 3 or 4 enclosed below the rim level. Seeds are dark brown to black pyramid-shaped seed to 4 mm long and 3 mm wide, with dinstinctive wing around the margin. Seed embryo type is folded.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between January and December. Collect mature fruits that are dark and hard (difficult to break with a finger nail), with the valves un-open any time of year. Leave the fruits in a breathable container in a dry room for one to two weeks. This allows the valves on the fruit to open and release the seeds. Separate the seeds by placing all the materials into a bucket and shaking it to dislodge the seeds. Pass the material through a sieve to separate the unwanted material. The finer material will contain both seeds (soft) and frass (hard) usually distinguishable from each other but can be very similar in shape and colour. With finer sieves, the seeds can be separated from the frass but this is not essential for storage or propagation. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA MSB | 7,500 (15 g) 7,500 (15 g) | 17 | 29-Oct-2004 | MOL4697 Gairdner-Torrens | 31-Mar-2006 | 95% | -18°C |