Botanical art
Prior names
Eucalyptus viridis ssp. wimmerensis
Common names
Wimmera Mallee 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. Wimmerensis named after the Wimmera region of western Victoria where the species is most common.
Distribution and status
Found around Bordertown in the South-east in South Australia growing on sands or gravelly loams in mallee vegetation or mixed mallee woodland. Also found in Victoria. Native. Rare in South Australia. Rare in Victoria.
Herbarium region: South Eastern
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Multi-stemmed and often erect-trunked mallee to 12 m tall with rough bark on lower stems only and smooth, grey to tan to cream bark above or smooth throughout. Juvenile leaves narrowly elliptical, dull, blue-green. Adult leaves to 80 mm long and 15 mm wide, linear-lanceolate to narrow-lanceolate, glossy green. Flowers axillary in groups of 7-11. Buds to 6 mm long and 4 mm wide, bud-cap rounded to bluntly cone-shaped, shorter than the base. Flowers white appearing in summer to autumn. Fruits are cup-shaped to barrel-shaped fruit to 6 mm long and 6 mm wide, disc descending, valves 4 below the rim. Seeds are orange-brown ovoid seed to 1.5 mm long and 1 mm wide, with reticulated surface. 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 100%. 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 | 38,000 (15.3 g) | 30 | 20-Jan-2010 | TST891 South Eastern | 1-Jun-2010 | 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.