Eucalyptus largiflorens
| Black box | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Eucalyptus |
| Species: | E. largiflorens |
| Binomial name | |
| Eucalyptus largiflorens | |
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Eucalyptus largiflorens, also called black box or river box,[3] is a tree that grows only in Australia. It has rough bark that feels fibrous or flaky. Its leaves are dull greenish-grey and shaped like a lance. The tree has green to yellow flower buds that are oval or club-shaped, white flowers, and fruit that looks like a half-sphere, cup, or barrel.
Description
[change | change source]This tree can grow up to 20 m (66 ft) tall. Its bark is dark grey and rough, covering even the smallest branches. Young trees have dull grey-green to bluish leaves that are 40–155 mm (2–6 in) long and 40–155 mm (2–6 in) wide. Adult leaves are lance-shaped and the same green color on both sides. The flowers grow in groups of 7 to 11 at the ends of branches or where the leaves meet the branch. The flower buds are green to yellow and oval or club-shaped. The flowers have white stamens and bloom mostly in autumn and spring. The fruit is a small capsule shaped like a half-sphere or oval.[4][5][6][7][8]
Taxonomy
[change | change source]Eucalyptus largiflorens was first officially described in 1855 by Ferdinand von Mueller.[9][10] The name "largiflorens" comes from Latin words meaning "many flowers," because the tree has large flower groups[11] and florens meaning "blooming".[12][6]
Where It Grows
[change | change source].jpg)
Eucalyptus largiflorens grows widely in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. They are often found in grassy woodlands on floodplains in the Murray–Darling basin, usually in drier places than the river red gum tree (E. camaldulensis). Before European settlement, black box trees covered about 517,812 km2 (199,928 sq mi) but now cover only about 293,631 km2 (113,372 sq mi). The tree population is now broken into smaller unconnected areas, and it is considered a vulnerable species since 2019.[1]
Use by Indigenous Australians
[change | change source]Indigenous Australians ate the small seeds of the black box tree when grass seeds were hard to find. They cut branches with fruit and left them in the sun to open the seed capsules. After taking out the seeds, they soaked and rinsed them many times to remove bitterness. Then they dried and ground the seeds on stones and ate them raw.[13]
References
[change | change source]- 1 2 Fensham, R.; Laffineur, B.; Collingwood, T. (2019). "Eucalyptus largiflorens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019 e.T137620042A137620054. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T137620042A137620054.en. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- 1 2 "Eucalyptus largiflorens". APNI. Retrieved 16 February 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ "Murray River National Park". National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ↑ Hill, Ken. "Eucalyptus largiflorens". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ↑ Brooker, M. Ian; Slee, Andrew V. "Eucalyptus largiflorens". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- 1 2 "Eucalyptus largiflorens". Euclid: Centre for Australian national Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ↑ Chippendale, George McCartney. "Eucalyptus largiflorens". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ↑ "Eucalyptus largiflorens". State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 17 February 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ "Eucalyptus largiflorens". APNI. Retrieved 17 February 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1855). "Description of fifty new Australian plants, chiefly from the colony of Victoria". Transactions and Proceedings of the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science. 1: 34. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ↑ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 460.
- ↑ Lewis, Charlton T. "florens". An Elementary Latin Dictionary. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ↑ Cribb, J.W.; Cribb, A.B. (1975). Wild Food in Australia. Sydney: Fontana/Collins. ISBN 0-00-634436-4.