Seeds of South Australia
Eucalyptus phenax ssp. phenax (Myrtaceae)
White Mallee
List of species for Eucalyptus
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Seed collecting:
January to December
Herbarium regions:
Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, South Eastern
NRM regions:
Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
IBRA regions
LEGEND
SUMMARY
Tintinara (NCP04)Naracoorte Coastal Plain
 Least Concern   [lots on roadsides]
Fleurieu (KAN02)Kanmantoo
 Rare   (IUCN: RA d(ii))
Mount Lofty Ranges (FLB01)Flinders Lofty Block
 Vulnerable   (IUCN: VU D2)   [edge of range]
Southern Yorke (EYB01)Eyre Yorke Block
 Least Concern   (Probable Decline)
St Vincent (EYB02) 
 Least Concern   (Probable Decline)
Eyre Hills (EYB03) 
 Least Concern   [undercollected]
Talia (EYB04) 
 Least Concern   [undercollected]
Eyre Mallee (EYB05) 
 Least Concern   [undercollected]
Murray Mallee (MDD02)Murray Darling Depression
 Least Concern
Murray Lakes and Coorong (MDD03) 
 Rare   (IUCN: RA d(ii))   [edge of range]
Lowan Mallee (MDD04) 
 Rare   (IUCN: RA d(ii))
Wimmera (MDD05) 
 Vulnerable   (IUCN: VU D2)   [odd record, not typical, edge of range]
Murray Scroll Belt (RIV06)Riverina
 Rare   (IUCN: RA d(i,ii))
Myall Plains (GAW01)Gawler
 Rare   (IUCN: RA d(i,ii))
Gawler Volcanics (GAW02) 
 Rare   (IUCN: RA d(i,ii))
IBRA regions
LEGEND
DISPLAY ALL
Tintinara (NCP04)Naracoorte Coastal PlainLeast Concern
  [lots on roadsides]
Fleurieu (KAN02)KanmantooRare
  (IUCN: RA d(ii))
Mount Lofty Ranges (FLB01)Flinders Lofty BlockVulnerable
  (IUCN: VU D2)   [edge of range]
5 of 5 subregionsEyre Yorke BlockLeast Concern
4 of 6 subregionsMurray Darling DepressionLeast Concern
, Rare
, Vulnerable
Murray Scroll Belt (RIV06)RiverinaRare
  (IUCN: RA d(i,ii))
2 of 8 subregionsGawlerRare
RSCA map:
Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion. Please click the thumbnail map.
AVH map:
Australian distribution map (external link)
SA Census:
Census of South Australian plants (external link)     [genus Eucalyptus]
Name derivation:
 Eucalyptus from the Greek 'eu' meaning well and 'calyptos' meaning covered; alluding to the cap or lid which covers the stamens in the bud. Phenax from the Greek meaning imposter; alluding to the species being misapplied to E. anceps.
Distribution:
 From on Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas, extending eastward to the Murray and upper South-east in South Australia, growing in mallee shrubland on loamy soils. Also found in Western Australia and Victoria.
Status:
 native. Uncommon in South Australia. Rare in Victoria. Common in Western Australia.
Plant description:
 Multi-stemmed mallee to 7 m high with smooth, coppery to grey to cream bark throughout. Juvenile leaves ovate, dull, green to slightly blue-green. Adult leaves to 120 mm long and 28 mm wide, lanceolate, maturing glossy, green. Flowers in groups of 7-9 in the axils of the leaves, lacking individual stalks. Buds to 11 mm long and 5 mm wide, bud-cap round to cone-shaped, weakly ribbed, equal in width or slightly wider than the base. Flowers creamy-white appearing spring to autumn. This subspecies is distinguished from E. phenax ssp. compressa in their distributions, longer peduncles and fruits which are about equal in length and width (longer than wide in E. phenax ssp. phenax).
Fruit type:
 Cup-shape to barrel-shaped fruit to 8 mm long and 10 mm wide, lacking individual stalks, disc descending, valves 3-5 level to rim.
Seed type:
 Red ovoid seed to 2.5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, with reticulated surface.
Embryo type:
 Folded.
Seed collecting:
 Collect mature fruits that are dark and hard (difficult to break with a finger nail), with the valves un-open any time of year.
Seed cleaning:
 Leave the fruits in a breathable container in a dry room for one to two weeks. This allows the valves on the fruit to open and release the seeds. Separate the seeds by placing all the materials into a bucket and shaking it to dislodge the seeds. Pass the material through a sieve to separate the unwanted material. The finer material will contain both seeds (soft) and frass (hard) usually distinguishable from each other but can be very similar in shape and colour. With finer sieves, the seeds can be separated from the frass but this is not essential for storage or propagation. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place.
Seed viability:
 From two collections, the seed viability were average high, ranging from 60% to 100%.
Seed germination:
 Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.
Seeds stored:
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)		Number
of plants		Date
collected		Collection number
Collection location		Date
stored		% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB		65000 (20.537 g)
65000		2021-Jan-2004MKJ 20
Eyre Peninsula		1-Sep-200475%+5°C, -18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.
Germination table:
DateResultT0T50Pre-treatment | Germination medium | Incubator: Photoperiod / Thermoperiod
Jun-0499%17 d37 d 20% hydrogen peroxide 10 min, water rinse;
1% agar;
8/16;  /  20°C
Aug-1460%14 d21 d
1% agar;
12/12;  /  20°C
Result: Maximum percentage of germination observed.
T0: Number of days before first germinant observed.
T50: Number of days to achieve 50% germination.
Pre-treatment: The initial treatment that the seeds received prior to placement on germination media.
Germination medium: The substrate that seeds were placed on for the duration of the germination experiment.
Incubator conditions:
Photoperiod: The duration of light exposure that the seeds were subject to during a 24 hour period.
Thermoperiod: The constant or diurnal temperatures that seeds were subject to during a 24 hour period.
Winter conditions: 15°C 20 h (3am→11pm); 5°C 4 h (11pm→3am) / 10 h light (8am→6pm); 14 h dark (6pm→8am)
Spring/Autumn conditions: 22°C 12 h (8am→8pm); 10°C 12 h (8pm→8am) / 12 h light (8am→8pm); 12 h dark (8pm→8am)
Summer conditions: 30°C 14 h (6am→8pm); 15°C 10 h (8pm→6am) / 14 h light (6am→8pm); 10 h dark (8pm→6am)