Kybean mallee ash facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kybean mallee ash |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Eucalyptus
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| Species: |
kybeanensis
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The Kybean mallee ash, scientifically known as Eucalyptus kybeanensis, is a unique type of mallee or small tree. It is found only in southeastern Australia. This plant has smooth, white or greyish bark. Its adult leaves are shaped like spears. You can spot its flower buds in groups of seven, nine, or eleven. When it blooms, it has white flowers, and its fruit looks like a small cone or half-sphere.
What Does It Look Like?
The Kybean mallee ash usually grows as a mallee, which means it's a shrubby plant with many stems coming from the ground. It typically reaches a height of 4–6 m (13–20 ft). Sometimes, it can grow into a small tree up to 18 m (59 ft) tall. This plant has a special woody swelling at its base called a lignotuber. This helps it regrow after fires.
Its bark is smooth and can be grey or greenish. Sometimes, you might see wiggly lines on the bark made by insects. Young plants and new shoots (called coppice regrowth) have bumpy stems. Their leaves are shiny green and shaped like spears or slightly curved. These young leaves are about 35–85 mm (1.4–3.3 in) long and 6–16 mm (0.24–0.63 in) wide.
Adult leaves are shiny green on both sides. They are also spear-shaped or curved, measuring 50–110 mm (2.0–4.3 in) long and 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in) wide. These leaves are attached to the stem by a short stalk called a petiole, which is about 3–8 mm (0.12–0.31 in) long.
Flowers and Fruit
The flower buds grow in the leaf corners, usually in groups of seven, nine, or eleven. They sit directly on a stalk called a peduncle, without their own tiny stalks. The mature buds are oval to oblong, about 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and wide. They have a rounded or flattened cap, known as an operculum, which protects the flower inside.
The Kybean mallee ash flowers between September and December. Its flowers are white. After flowering, the plant produces a woody fruit. This fruit is shaped like a cone or half-sphere and is about 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in) wide. It's a type of capsule, and when it opens, the seeds are released.
How It Got Its Name
The Kybean mallee ash was first officially described in 1915. Two botanists, Joseph Maiden and Richard Cambage, gave it its scientific name, Eucalyptus kybeanensis. They found a sample of the plant near a place called Kybean in New South Wales. The name kybeanensis simply means "from Kybean," which is where it was first discovered.
Where It Grows
The Kybean mallee ash grows in exposed, high-altitude areas. You can often find it as the main plant in subalpine mallee scrubs. These are shrubby forests found in cooler, mountainous regions. It grows south from the Kybean area in the far southwest of New South Wales. It also lives in the Victorian High Country.
