Eucalyptus conferta

Eucalyptus conferta
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Eucalyptus
Species:	E. conferta
Binomial name
Eucalyptus conferta Rule

Eucalyptus conferta is a rare, slender tree that is endemic to a small area near Chewton, Victoria in Australia. It has thick, rough, fissured bark, dull green to bluish, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds arranged in groups of seven, white flowers and hemispherical fruit.

Description

Eucalyptus conferta is a slender tree typically growing to a height of about 15 m (50 ft) with thick, rough, fissured bark. The leaves on young plants are linear, curved, dull and glaucous, up to 80 mm (3.1 in) long and 9 mm (0.35 in) wide on a short petiole, or sessile. Adult leaves are dull green to bluish, lance-shaped, 70–110 mm (2.8–4.3 in) long and 12–18 mm (0.47–0.71 in) wide on a petiole 12–18 mm (0.47–0.71 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of seven in leaf axils on a thin peduncle 7–11 mm (0.28–0.43 in) long, the individual buds on a thin pedicel 2–5. The mature buds are oval, 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) wide with a conical operculum 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long. Flowering occurs in autumn and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, hemispherical to almost conical capsule 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long and wide on a slender pedicel 1–3 mm (0.04–0.1 in) long.

Taxonomy and naming

Eucalyptus conferta was first formally described in 2012 by Kevin James Rule and the description was published in the journal Muelleria from a specimen collected in the Fryers Range west of Malmsbury. The specific epithet (conferta) is a Latin word meaning "pressed together", "crowded", "thick" or "dense", referring to the crowded leaves on immature plants.

Distribution and habitat

This eucalypt is a rare tree, restricted to the Glenluce State Forest about 17 km (11 mi) south of Chewton in Victoria, where it grows on hilly sites in dry, shallow soils.