Eucalyptus articulata

Description

Eucalyptus articulata also known as the Ponton Creek mallee is a straggly shrub that is endemic to a small area near Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. The low straggly mallee typically grows to a height of 3 metres (10 ft) and grows in red sandy dunes,arkose rubble and in sandy loam in the Great Victoria Desert.The bark is smooth and a light coppery color over the length of the trunk and branches.The glossy green adult leaves have a lanceolate shape with a blade that is 11 centimetres (4.33 in) in length and 1.5 cm (0.59 in) wide with many large oil glands.Flowering occurs between July and August producing inflorescences hold seven flowers and are held found on the leaf axils or clustered at the branch terminus.It will form red club shaped buds that have conical caps followed by fruits that have a length of 9 millimetres (0.354 in) long and width of 7 mm (0.276 in).The seeds produced are red-brown with an ovoid to flattened-ovoid or cuboid shape with a length of 0.7 to 1.5 mm (0.028 to 0.059 in). The species was first formally described by the botanists Stephen Hopper and [Ian Brooker]] in 1993 in the work New series,subseries,species and subspecies of Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) from Western Australia and from South Australia.published in the journal Nuytsia.The species was described from specimens collected by the pair in 1987 east of Mulga Rock in the Great Victoria Desert. In 2008 the species was listed as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.There are three known remaining populations spread over a distance of 1.5 to 2 kilometres (0.9 to 1.2 mi) with a total population of around 120 plants all on unallocated crown land.