Species profile—Eucalyptus virens (shiny-leaved ironbark)
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Myrtaceae → Eucalyptus virens (shiny-leaved ironbark)
Sighting data
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Myrtaceae
- Scientific name
- Eucalyptus virens Brooker & A.R.Bean
- Common name
- shiny-leaved ironbark
- WildNet taxon ID
- 9558
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Vulnerable
- Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) status
- Vulnerable
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- No
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Short Notes
- BRI 445374
- Description
- Eucalyptus virens is a small to medium tree growing to 25 m in height. The trunk and larger branches are covered with soft and flaky, grey ironbark. The bark on the smaller branches is soft and corky. The cotyledons are reniform. The seedling leaves are produced for about 3 to 4 nodes, shortly petiolate, remaining decussate, linear to narrow-lanceolate, green and growing to 8cm long and 1cm wide. The glossy juvenile leaves have short petioles (to 0.6 cm long), alternating, linear or falcate, green and growing to 10.5 cm long and 0.8 cm wide. The bright, glossy green adult leaves have petioles to 1.6 cm long, alternating, narrow-lanceolate or falcate and growing to 11.5 cm long and 1.9 cm wide. The venation of the adult leaves is dense and fine; oil glands are small and sparse, appearing discrete or at the intersection of the veinlets.
The inflorescences are axillary and simple, or terminal and compound. The peduncles are slender, growing to 1.4 cm long and bearing 7 white flowers. Buds are pedicellate, fusiform to rhomboidal, growing 0.5 cm long and 0.4 cm wide. The outer operculum is shed early leaving a permanent ring scar on the buds. The inner operculum is conical when young, and hemispherical when mature. The fruit is pedicellate, obconical to hemispherical, growing to 0.5 by 0.5 cm. There is a thin rim on the fruits, the disc is descending, and there are 4 to 6 enclosed or slightly exserted valves. The seeds are light brown, 1 by 0.5 to 1 mm, with a very fine, shallow reticulum. The hilum is ventral (Brooker and Bean, 1987).
Eucalyptus virens is most similar to E. panda. E. virens differs in stature (E. panda grows 10 to 18m tall), juvenile and adult leaves (E. panda has grey-green juvenile and grey-green, dull adult leaves), and flowering time (E. virens flowers in Summer and E. panda in Winter). - Map
- View Map
- Distribution
- Eucalyptus virens has a very limited distribution in southern Queensland and is currently known from 5 locations scattered over a distance of approximately 500 km. Locations include near Inglewood, Tara, north-east of Eidsvold and the scarp on approach to the Maranoa River near Mt Moffatt, 10 km East South East of Brovinia, north of Binjour and North West of Injune (Brooker and Kleinig 1994; Halford, 1997; Queensland Herbarium, 2012). The species occurs in Allies Creek State Forest and Nour Nour National Park (Halford, 1997; Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Distributional limits
- -25.1734355, 147.9094631
-28.490082, 151.4247223 - Range derivation
- Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records
- Habitat
- Eucalyptus virens occurs on sandy soils on low rises, hillslopes, sandstone escarpments and scree slopes. The species grows in woodland communities and is commonly associated with Angophora leiocarpa, Corymbia trachyphloia, Eucalyptus exserta, Allocasuarina inophloia and Lysicarpus angustifolius. Other species occasionally recorded with E. virens include E. panda, E. apothalassica, E. sideroxylon, Allocasuarina luehmannii and Callitris glaucophylla (Halford, 1997; Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Reproduction
- Flowering in Eucalyptus virens has been recorded November - February. (Brooker and Kleinig, 1994)
- Threatening processes
- Possible threatening processes include; loss of habitat due to vegetation clearing, timber harvesting of the species and habitat disturbance by timber harvesting (Halford, 1997). Fire, weeds and cattle grazing are threatening processes to some populations (Sparshott, 2009).
- Status notes
- Eucalyptus virens is listed as Vulnerable under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.
- Management documents
- Halford, D (1997). Eucalyptus virens Species Management Profile, Department of Natural Resources, Queensland.
- Management recommendations
- Management objectives for Eucalyptus virens include protection of the species and its habitat. Specific actions include the establishment of a protective buffer (0.3 ha) that excludes timber harvesting with all E. virens at least 30 m inside the protective buffer (Halford, 1997).
- References
- Brooker, M.I.H. & Bean, A.R. (1987). Eucalyptus virens, a New Species of Ironbark from Queensland. Brunonia 9 (2): 223.
Brooker, M.I.H. & Kleinig, D.A. (1994). Field Guide to Eucalypts. Volume 3, Northern Australia.
Halford, D. (1997). Eucalyptus virens Species Management Profile, Department of Natural Resources, Brisbane.
Queensland Herbarium (2011). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 13/01/2012.
Sparshott, K. (2009). Expedition National Park Vegetation Report (Draft), Department of Environment and Resource Management. - Profile author
- Lynise Wearne (12/01/2012)
Other resources
- Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT)
- The Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH)
- Atlas of Living Australia
Data source
This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=9558.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
