Species profile—Eucalyptus taurina (Helidon ironbark)
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Myrtaceae → Eucalyptus taurina (Helidon ironbark)
Sighting data
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Myrtaceae
- Scientific name
- Eucalyptus taurina A.R.Bean & Brooker
- Common name
- Helidon ironbark
- WildNet taxon ID
- 6582
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Endangered
- Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) status
- Endangered
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- No
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Description
- Eucalyptus taurina is a tree growing to 22 m high with rugged grey ironbark on the trunk and larger branches. Branches which are less than 8 cm diameter are smooth. The adult leaves are alternate, lanceolate to narrowly-lanceolate or slightly falcate, 9.5 to 15 cm long and 1.5 to 2.5 cm wide, concolourous and dull grey-green, with petioles 4 to 7 mm long. The juvenile leaves are alternate, lanceolate, 9 to 13.5 cm long and 1 to 2.5 cm wide, strongly discolorous and not glossy. The venation on the adult leaves is densely reticulate and the oil glands are obscure. The petioles on the adult leaves are 14 to 18 mm long. The inflorescences are axillary in the upper leaf axils or apparently compound and terminal; formed as umbellasters, made up of 7 flowers or less if some have aborted. The peduncles are angular, 4 to 7 mm long. The pedicels are absent or up to 2 mm long. The buds are fusiform when young, becoming elliptical at maturity, 7 to 8 mm long and 3 to 3.5 mm wide. The operculum is obtuse growing to 4 by 3.5 mm. The stamens are white, inflexed and the stigma is the pinhead type. The fruits are sessile or shortly pedicellate, 5 to 6.5 mm long and 5 to 6 mm wide and obconical. The fruit disc is obscure and there are 3 to 5 exserted valves. The seeds are dark brown, dorsally reticulate, not angular, not lacunose and the hilum is ventral (Bean and Brooker, 1994).
E. taurina is superficially similar to E. crebra, but differs by its smooth outer branches, fusiform buds and the sessile or almost sessile fruits with exserted valves. E. taurina differs from E. tholiformis by its narrow juvenile leaves (E. tholiformis 4.5 to 8 by 2 to 3.5 cm) and obscure fruiting disc (Bean and Brooker, 1994). - Map
- View Map
- Distribution
- Eucalyptus taurina occurs in three disjunct areas of south-eastern Queensland; north and north-east of Helidon, south of Mundubbera and east of Crows Nest. The species is found within Allies Creek State Forest, Crow's Nest Falls National Park, White Mountain State Forest, Lockyer National Park and Lockyer State Forest (Bean and Brooker 1994; Wang, 1999; Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Distributional limits
- -25.8041666, 151.0888888
-27.5229922, 152.24657 - Range derivation
- Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records
- Habitat
- Eucalyptus taurina grows at altitudes of 420 to 450 m asl. The species grows on ridges in shallow sandy soil derived from granite or sandstone. The main associated tree species are Corymbia gummifera, C. trachyphloia, C. henryi, Eucalyptus baileyana, E. dura, E. helidonica, and Angophora woodsiana (Bean and Brooker 1994).
- Reproduction
- Very little is known about the biology and ecology of E. taurina. Flowers have been collected in October (Bean and Brooker, 1994; Wang, 1999).
- Threatening processes
- Potential threatening processes include destruction of habitat by timber harvesting, destruction of habitat by clearing and inappropriate fire regimes (Wang, 1999).
- Status notes
- Eucalyptus taurina is listed as Vulnerable under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.
- Management documents
- Wang, J. (1999).Eucalyptus taurina Species Management Profile, Department of Natural Resources, Queensland.
- Management recommendations
- Management objectives for the protection of Eucalyptus taurina and its habitat include: no timber harvesting of E. taurina; establishment of a protective buffer (0.3 ha) that excludes clearing where E. taurina occurs; and prescribed burns on sites where E. taurina occurs to be at a frequency and intensity which minimises damage to seedlings and saplings (Wang, 1999).
- References
- Bean, A.R. and Brooker, M.I.H. (1994). Four new species of ironbark (Eucalyptus L.Herit., Myrtaceae) from southern Queensland. Austrobaileya 4 (2): 189-191.
Queensland Herbarium (2012). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 11/01/2012.
Wang, J. (1999). Eucalyptus taurina Species Management Profile. Department of Natural Resources, Brisbane. - Profile author
- Lynise Wearne (11/01/2012)
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=6582.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
