Eucalyptus phenax
Eucalyptus phenax, commonly known as green dumosa mallee or white mallee, is a species of mallee that is endemic to southern Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers and cup-shaped to cylindrical fruit.
Description
Eucalyptus phenax is a mallee or shrub that typically grows to a height of and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth, creamy grey bark that is shed in ribbons. Young plants and coppice regrowth have egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are the same glossy green on both sides, lance-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils, usually in groups of seven or nine on an unbranched peduncle long, the individual buds sessile or on pedicels up to long. Mature buds are cylindrical to oval, long and wide with a conical to rounded operculum. Flowering occurs between October and May and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped to cylindrical capsule long and wide.Taxonomy and naming
Eucalyptus phenax was first formally described in 1996 by Ian Brooker and Andrew Slee from material collected by Dean Nicolle near Tailem Bend in 1985. The specific epithet is an ancient Greek word meaning "imposter", referring to the fact that this species was previously known as E. anceps, now a synonym of E.rugosa.In 2000, Dean Nicolle described two subspecies and the names have been accepted by the Australian Plant Census:Eucalyptus phenax subsp. compressa D. Nicolle that has longer peduncles, larger flower buds and fruit than subspecies phenax;Eucalyptus phenax Brooker & Slee subsp. phenax.