Eucalyptus pulverulenta

Location & distribution maps

Common name:         Silver-leaved Mountain Gum

Conservation status: ...

• This eucalypt is classified as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

• It was only known from about 5,400 plant in ten populations in 1990

• The main threats to the species are habitat damage due to grazing, clearing of vegetation for fire trail, and its small population size

Etymology:   

• The name Eucalyptus is derived from the Ancient Greek words eu meaning 'good'and kalypto meaning ' cover, conceal, hide', referring to the operculum covering the flower buds 

• The specific epithet (pulverulenta) is from the Latin word pulveratus meaning "powdered", referring to the white covering on the leaves, buds and fruit

Flowers:                  

• The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of three on an unbranched peduncle 3–12 mm long, the individual buds sessile or on pedicels up to 3 mm lon

• Mature buds are glaucous, oval to diamond-shaped, 9–11 mm long, 4–7 mm wide with a conical to beaked operculum

• Flowering occurs from May to November and the flowers are white

Fruit:                         

• The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped to cylindrical capsule 5–10 mm long, 6–11 mm wide with the valves near rim level

Leaves:         

• The crown of the tree has almost exclusively juvenile leaves that are egg-shaped to round or heart-shaped, glaucous, sessile, 15–50 mm long, 20–50 mm wide and arranged in opposite pairs

Stem & branches: 

• It has smooth, greenish to grey or brown bark, sometimes hanging in short ribbons

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A straggly tree or mallee that typically grows to a height of 5 m or a tree to 9 m , and forms a lignotuber

Habitat:   

• It grows in grassy woodland on hillsides and mountains

Distribution:                  

• Only known from a few scattered populations on the Central and Southern Tablelands of NSW, between Bathurst and Bombala

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • Eucalyptus pulverulenta was first formally described in 1819 by John Sims in the Botanical Magazine

• Use in horticulture

  • A cultivar known as 'Baby Blue' is a dwarf form of E. pulverulenta.

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus_pulverulenta (2024)