Eucalyptus subcrenulata
Eucalyptus subcrenulata, commonly known as Tasmanian alpine yellow gum, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to the highlands of Tasmania. It has smooth bark, glossy green, lance-shaped to egg-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three, white flowers and hemispherical to bell-shaped fruit. It is similar to E. johnstonii, E. vernicosa and E. urnigera.
Description
Eucalyptus subcrenulata is a tree that typically grows to a height of, sometimes a tall, straight tree to, and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth, pale grey to brown or yellowish bark, often with horizontal black scars. Young plants and coppice regrowth have stems that are square in cross-section, sometimes with a wing on each corner and sessile leaves, arranged in opposite pairs. These leaves are egg-shaped to round, glossy green, long and wide with small teeth on the edge. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, lance-shaped to egg-shaped, the same shade of glossy green on both sides, long and wide, tapering at the base to a petiole long. The edge of the leaves sometimes have small teeth, the veins are at an angle greater than 45° to midrib and the leaves have a strong spicy aroma when crushed.The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of three on an unbranched peduncle long, the individual buds sessile. Mature buds are oval, long and wide with a rounded to beaked operculum. Flowering occurs from November to May, peaking between January and March, and the flowers are white. The fruit is a sessile, woody, hemispherical to bell-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves at rim level or slightly above.
Taxonomy and naming
Eucalyptus subcrenulata was first formally described in 1929 by Joseph Maiden and William Blakely in Maiden's book A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus, from specimens he collected near Mount Field East in 1906. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin sub- meaning "somewhat" or "not completely" and crenulatus meaning "having small, rounded teeth", referring to the leaf edges.This eucalypt is in the subgenus Symphyomyrtus, section Maidenaria, series Semiunicolores along with two other Tasmanian species, Tasmanian yellow gum, varnished gum and two mainland species, Mt Imlay mallee and Nunniong gum in series Orbiculares but that species is distinguished by its urn-shaped fruit. The mainland species have more greyish leaves.