Eucalyptus kessellii

Eucalyptus kessellii, commonly known as Jerdacuttup mallee, is a species of mallee that is endemic to an area along the south coast of Western Australia. It has very hard, rough bark on the trunk of larger specimens, smooth greyish and brownish bark above, lance-shaped to egg-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, creamy white flowers and downturned, conical to cup-shaped fruit.

Description
Eucalyptus kessellii is a mallee that typically grows to a height of , rarely a single stemmed tree. It forms a lignotuber. The lower part of the trunk, sometimes the entire trunk has hard but thin, rough, dark grey bark. The bark above, sometimes the entire bark on younger plants, is smooth, greyish and brownish to pink. Young plants and coppice regrowth have egg-shaped to more or less round leaves  long and  wide. Mature plants have dull greyish green, lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves that are  long and  wide on a petiole  wide. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of seven, sometimes three, on a broad, flat, downturned peduncle  long, the individual buds sessile or on a pedicel up to  long. Mature buds are oval to diamond-shaped,  long and  wide with a conical or slightly beaked operculum. Flowering occurs between June and September and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody, conical to cup-shaped capsule  long,  wide on a downturned pedicel and with the valves protruding above the rim of the fruit when fresh.

In 1992, Ken Hill and Lawrie Johnson described two subspecies and the names have been accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
 Eucalyptus kessellii subsp. eugnosta Hill & Johnson has fruit that are smooth, or have ribs less than  high;
 Eucalyptus kessellii Maiden & Blakely subsp. kessellii has fruit that are distinctly ribbed, with ribs more than  high.

Distribution and habitat
Eucalyptus kessellii grows in mallee shrubland on calcareous loams. Subspecies eugnosta occurs from near Ravensthorpe to near Condingup and as far north as Scaddan and Gibson. Subspecies kessellii grows from north-east of Salmon Gums to near Mount Ney and Mount Ridley.

Conservation status
Both subspecies of E. kessellii are classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.

See also
List of Eucalyptus species

References

Category:Rosids of Western Australia
kessellii
Category:Myrtales of Australia
Category:Plants described in 1925
Category:Taxa named by Joseph Maiden