Botanical art
Prior names
Eucalyptus elaeophora
Eucalyptus goniocalyx, partly
Common names
Bastard Box
Long-leaf Box
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. Goniocalyx from the Greek 'gonia' meaning angle and 'calyx', the calyx or bud-base of the flower; referring to the buds and fruits with slightly angled sides.
Distribution and status
Found in the southern Flinders Ranges and the northern Mount Lofty Ranges, growing in hilly terrain on rocky slopes and ridges on well-drained stony soils. Also found in New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Uncommon in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Northern Lofty, Murray, Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Spreading tree to 16 m with single- or several-stemmed. Bark rough on trunk and to small branches then smooth, grey to cream above. Juvenile leaves round, greyish and very waxy. Adult leaves to 250 mm long and 40 mm wide, lanceolate to falcate, glossy, green. Flowers in groups of 7 in leaf axils. Buds to 11 mm long and 7 mm wide, slightly angular near base, non-waxy, bud-cap cone-shaped, equal in length to the base. Flower white. This subspecies is distinguished from Eucalyptus goniocalyx ssp. exposa which has a mallee habit, absent of or less extensive rough bark, smaller juvenile and adult leaves and waxy branchlets, buds and fruits. Fruits are cup-shaped to cylinder-shaped fruit to 10 mm long and 10 mm wide, lacking individual stalk, valves 3 or 4 same level to slightly above rim. Seeds are dark brown to black ovoid seed, with fined wrinkles. 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. From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 90%. 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 | 18,900 (17 g) 18,900 (17 g) | 70 | 26-Sep-2005 | KHB1 Southern Lofty | 8-Aug-2006 | 90% | -18°C |
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.