Botanical art
Prior names
Eucalyptus calycogona var. gracilis
Eucalyptus gracilis var. breviflora
Eucalyptus gracilis var. erecta
Common names
White Mallee
Yorrell
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. Gracilis from the Latin 'gracilis' meaning slender or graceful; referring to the often graceful and slender habit of the species.
Distribution and status
Found throughout much of South Australia except for the northern arid regions and the south east, growing in mallee shrubland on a variety of soils, often overlying limestone. Also found in Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Tree or multi-stemmed mallee to 8 m high with smooth, whitish bark above and rough dark-grey bark at the base. Juvenile leaves elliptical to narrow-lanceolate, dull, blue-green. Adult leaves to 110 mm long and 15 mm wide, alternate, narrow-lanceolate to lanceolate, glossy, darkish-green. Flowers axillary, in groups of 7. Buds to 7 mm long and 5 mm wide, smooth or weakly angled, with individual and group stalks, bud-cap cone-shaped, often shorter than the base. Flowers white. Flowering between February and October. Fruits are barrel-shaped fruit to 8 mm long and 7 mm wide, smooth, disc descending, valves 3 or 4 deeply enclosed in the fruit. Seeds are brown ovoid seed to 1.2 mm long and 0.8 mm wide, faintly reticulate. 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 anytime of year. Leave the fruits in a breathable container in a dry room for at least a week. 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 95%. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily. 1. Germination 100% on 1% w/v agar, 8/16 dark/light, 20°C. 2. Germination 100% on 1% w/v agar, 8/16 dark/light, 25°C. See http://data.kew.org/sid
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA MSB | 6,500 (3.71 g) 6,500 (3.71 g) | 10 | 25-Nov-2003 | MKJ2 Yorke Peninsula | 1-Sep-2004 | 100% | +5°C, -18°C |
| BGA MSB | 17,000 (3.91 g) 17,000 (3.91 g) | 30+ | 8-Dec-2005 | DJD310 Gairdner-Torrens | 8-Aug-2006 | 100% | -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.