Manara Hills red gum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Manara Hills red gum |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Eucalyptus
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| Species: |
vicina
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The Manara Hills red gum, known scientifically as Eucalyptus vicina, is a special type of mallee tree. It belongs to the Myrtaceae family, which includes many well-known plants like gum trees. This tree is found only in western New South Wales, Australia. It has smooth bark, long leaves, white flowers, and unique cup-shaped fruits.
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What Does the Manara Hills Red Gum Look Like?
The Manara Hills red gum can grow as a tree or a mallee. It usually reaches about 8 meters (about 26 feet) tall. This plant forms a special woody swelling at its base called a lignotuber. This helps it regrow after fires or damage.
Bark and Leaves
The bark of this red gum is smooth. It has a mix of grey, brown, and pinkish colors. Young plants and new shoots (called coppice regrowth) have stems that are square. Their stems often look glaucous, which means they have a dull, bluish-green, or grayish-white coating.
The leaves on young plants are egg-shaped. They are about 50 to 90 millimeters (2 to 3.5 inches) long. They are also about 25 to 49 millimeters (1 to 2 inches) wide. Adult leaves are green on both sides. They are shaped like a spear or are slightly curved. These leaves are longer, about 55 to 160 millimeters (2 to 6 inches) long. They are 7 to 27 millimeters (0.3 to 1 inch) wide. Each leaf tapers down to a stalk called a petiole, which is 10 to 35 millimeters (0.4 to 1.4 inches) long.
Flowers and Fruit
The flower buds grow in groups of seven. They appear in the axils of the leaves. An axil is the angle between a leaf and the stem. These groups of buds are on a short, unbranched stalk called a peduncle, which is 3 to 8 millimeters (0.1 to 0.3 inches) long. Some buds are directly attached (called sessile), while others have tiny stalks (called pedicels) up to 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) long.
Mature flower buds are oval or diamond-shaped. They are 6 to 10 millimeters (0.2 to 0.4 inches) long and 3 to 6 millimeters (0.1 to 0.2 inches) wide. Each bud has a cap called an operculum. This cap is cone-shaped or rounded. It is a bit longer than the base of the flower, which is called the floral cup.
The Manara Hills red gum has white flowers. They have been seen blooming in June, September, and October. After the flowers, the plant produces fruit. The fruit is a woody capsule. It is shaped like a cup or half a sphere. These fruits are 4 to 6 millimeters (0.16 to 0.24 inches) long and 4 to 8 millimeters (0.16 to 0.31 inches) wide. The parts that release the seeds (called valves) stick out from the fruit.
How Was the Manara Hills Red Gum Named?
The Manara Hills red gum was first officially described in 1991. Two botanists, Lawrie Johnson and Ken Hill, gave it its scientific name. They published their description in a science journal called Telopea. They found this plant near Manara Hill in western New South Wales.
The scientific name vicina comes from a Latin word. Vicinus means "neighboring" or "closely resembling." This name was chosen because the Manara Hills red gum looks very similar to other small red gum trees, like Eucalyptus dwyeri.
Where Does the Manara Hills Red Gum Live?
The Manara Hills red gum grows in mallee shrubland. This type of environment is found on stony hills. You can find it in an area stretching from Griffith, New South Wales and Mutawintji National Park all the way north of Bourke in New South Wales.
