Jingymia gum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jingymia gum |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Eucalyptus
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| Species: |
pruiniramis
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Eucalyptus pruiniramis, commonly known as Jingymia gum or midlands gum is a species of mallee or tree that is endemic to a small area of Western Australia. It usually has rough bark on the lower half of the trunk, smooth bark above, dull green, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, white flowers and cylindrical to cup-shaped fruit.
Description
Eucalyptus pruiniramis is a mallee, sometimes a small straggly tree, that typically grows to a height of 2.5–7 m (8 ft 2 in – 23 ft 0 in) and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth greyish or blackish bark, usually with rough fibrous bark on the lower half of the trunk. Young plants have stems that are square in cross-section and leaves that are greyish green, broadly egg-shaped to round, 45–105 mm (1.8–4.1 in) long and 40–65 mm (1.6–2.6 in) wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of dull green on both sides, lance-shaped, 85–125 mm (3.3–4.9 in) long and 15–33 mm (0.59–1.30 in) wide, tapering to a petiole 15–30 mm (0.59–1.18 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of seven, nine or eleven on a flattened, unbranched peduncle 8–20 mm (0.31–0.79 in) long, the individual buds on pedicels 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) long. Mature buds are broadly spindle-shaped to oval, 11–16 mm (0.43–0.63 in) long and 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) wide with a conical operculum. Flowering occurs in summer and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cylindrical to cup-shaped capsule 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) long and 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) wide with the valves near rim level.
Taxonomy
Eucalyptus pruiniramis was first formally described in 1992 by Lawrie Johnson and Ken Hill in the journal Telopea. The specific epithet (pruiniramis) is from Latin, meaning "rime" or "hoar-frost" and "-of a branch", referring to the white, waxy covering on the branches.
Distribution and habitat
Jingymia mallee grows in low mallee woodland on rocky hillsides between Mogumber and Arrino. It is only known from nine populations with a total of about 58 plants and only one population is in a reserve.
Conservation status
This mallee is listed as "endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and as "Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia). The main threats to the species are road and fence maintenance, gravel extraction, grazing and weed infestation.
