Plants of
South Australia
South Australia
Common names
Mount Taylor Mallee
Kangaroo Island Mallee Ash
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. Remota from the Latin 'remotus' meaning remote, alluding to the species distribution in relation to closely-related species from eastern Australia.
Distribution and status
Endemic to South Australia and found on the western end of Kangaroo Island growing on gravelly sands and loams over laterite in mallee shrubland. Native. Common in South Australia.
Herbarium region: Kangaroo Island
NRM region: Kangaroo Island
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Single to several-stemmed spreading tree or mallee to 15 m high with rough, firbous, finely-fissured, grey bark on the lower stems to smaller branches and smooth, grey to yellow-cream bark above. Juvenile leaves ovate, dull, blue-green. Adult leaves to 150 mm long and 40 mm wide, lanceolate, glossy, dark green to blue-green. Flowers in groups of 9-21 in axils of the leaves. Buds to 6 mm long and 4 mm wide, club-shaped,;bud-cap round, shorter than the base. Flowers white appearing in summer. Fruits are cup-shaped to cone-shaped fruit to 10 mm long and 10 mm wide; smooth, disc level, with valves 3-5 level to rim. Seeds are dark brown to black sectoroid to pyramid-shaped seed to 0.7 mm long and 0.5 mm wide. 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 and frass that can be very similar in shape and colour. 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 low, at 10%. 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 | 6,400 (25.97 g) 6,400 (25.97 g) | 25+ | 29-Nov-2005 | PJA102 Kangaroo Island | 8-Aug-2006 | 10% | -18°C |
