Eucryphia milliganii

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids  >  Oxalidales > Cunoniaceae  >  Eucryphia milliganii

Other links:                                                     

Plant  information

Common name:               Dwarf Leatherwood  

Conservation status:   unknown

Etymology:   

• x

Flowers:                  

• Flowers are solitary, axillary; pedicel bracteate at the base, ~0.7 cm long and peduncle not visible

• Four bracts that are brown, imbricate, rigid and the external ones are ovate, acute and 1–1.5 mm long

• While internal ones are linear-ovate and ~2mm long

• Sepals 4, broadly ovate to oblong, obtuse, rigid, brown, margins on the upper and under surfaces slightly hairy and up to 4mm long

• Four petals that are white ovate and about 8mm long. Many stamens but rarely less more than 20, filaments up to 4m long and surrounded by short tubular ciliate effigurations

• Ovary ovoid-oblong, densely adpressedly villose and up to 2mm long. Flowers February–May

Fruit:                         

• Fruit septicidally 4-5 valved, dark brown with valves pubescent on the back and glabrous at the sides

• Epicarp mature fruits splits off from endocarp, which splits ~1/4 of its length

• Seeds in each valve up to 3mm long and winged dark brown, glabrous

Leaves:         

• Stipules present and interpetiolar, ovate, brown in colour and never longer than 1mm

• Leaves are simple, opposite and densely packed especially at the ends of branches

• They are elliptic and length rarely exceeding twice the breadth

• Theupper surface dark green, shining while under surface is very glaucous and reticulate

• Both surfaces have venation; 0.4-1.4 cm long and 0.2-0.6 cm broad

Stem & branches:   

•  It is an evergreen, normally small shrub growing a few meters high but in the right conditions can form a tree habit growing up to 14m

• It is densely branched and is normally slender with branches being blackish-brown with a terete and hairless form

Roots:         

• x

Habit:        

• A shrub or small tree 

Habitat:   

• It is most commonly found in alpine and sub-alpine heath areas

• It is the sister species of the popular horticulture plant Eucryphia lucida also known as Leatherwood

• It is most common in alpine and sub-alpine areas where it grows in relatively undisturbed heath, but it extends virtually to sea level in scrubby vegetation

Distribution:                  

• Endemic to areas of Tasmania

• It grows in western and southern Tasmania 

• Interior of Tasmania towards the south and west coast

Species:                     

• World:            S,    G

• Australia:      S,    G

Additional notes:     

• There are two subspecies of E. milliganii

  • E. milliganii ssp. milliganii, grows north of a line running from Macquarie Harbour to Bruny Island

  • The leaves of this subspecies are oblong

  • The southern subspecies, E. milliganii ssp. pubescens, grows south of this line and has ovate leaves.