Eucalyptus cordata

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Heart-leaved silver gum
Eucalyptus cordata, Melbourne

Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species:
E. cordata
Binomial name
Eucalyptus cordata
Labill.[2]
E. cordata, field distribution

Eucalyptus cordata, commonly known as the heart-leaved silver gum[3] is a shrub to medium-sized tree that is endemic to Tasmania. It has smooth bark throughout, mostly only juvenile, more or less heart-shaped, glaucous leaves, glaucous flower buds arranged in groups of three, white flowers and cylindrical or hemispherical fruit.

E. cordata, juvenile leaves
E. cordata, buds

Description

Eucalyptus cordata is a scraggy shrub or tree that typically grows to a height of between 3 and 25 m (9.8 and 82.0 ft) and forms a

capsule 7–13 mm (0.28–0.51 in) long and 9–15 mm (0.35–0.59 in) wide and sessile or on a very short pedicel.[3][4][5]

Taxonomy and naming

Eucalyptus cordata was first formally described in 1806 by Jacques Labillardière who published the description in Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen.[6][7] The specific epithet (cordata) is a Latin word meaning "heart-shaped"[8] referring to the leaves.[3]

In 2008, Dean Nicolle, Brad Potts and Gay McKinnon described two subspecies and the names have been accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

  • Eucalyptus cordata Labill. subsp. cordata,[9] that has branchlets that are circular in cross section;[5]
  • Eucalyptus cordata subsp. quadrangulosa D.Nicolle, B.M.Potts & McKinnon,[10] that has branchlets that are square in cross-section.[5]

Distribution and habitat

Heart-leaved silver gum has a restricted distribution in the south-east of Tasmania, growing at intermediate altitudes such as on the foothills of Mount Wellington, on the Snug Plains and around Port Arthur and Moogara. The tree makes an attractive ornamental with its large, glaucous juvenile leaves, which often persist in the crown.[11] Subspecies cordata mainly occurs south from Triabunna and is found on Bruny and Maria Islands. Subspecies quadrangulosa is centred on the Wellington Range but is most prolific on the Snug Plains.[5]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T133378753A133378755.en
    . Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Eucalyptus cordata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Eucalyptus cordata". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  4. ^ Chippendale, George M. "Eucalyptus cordata". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  5. ^
    doi:10.26749/rstpp.142.2.71
    . Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Eucalyptus cordata". APNI. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  7. ^ Labillardière, Jacques (1806). Novae Hollandiae plantarum specimen (Volume 2). Paris. p. 13. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  8. ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 402.
  9. ^ "Eucalyptus cordata subsp. cordata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Eucalyptus cordata subsp. quadrangulosa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  11. ^ Brooker, I. & Kleinig, D., Eucalyptus, An illustrated guide to identification, Reed Books, Melbourne, 1996
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