Silver princess (Eucalyptus caesia)
Description
Eucalyptus caesia, commonly known as caesia, gungurru or silver princess, is a mallee of the Eucalyptus genus that is endemic to Western Australia. The name "silver" refers to the white powder that covers the branches, flower buds and fruit. "Gungurru" comes from the name used by the indigenous Noongar people. The tree has a weeping habit and typically grows to a height of 2 to 14 metres (6.6 to 45.9 ft)with an average of about 6 metres (20 ft). Young stems, leaves, buds and fruit are blue-green in colour and are covered in a showy white, waxy bloom. The trunk has deep brown minni-ritchi bark that peels in small curly flakes but does not detach to reveal a pale undersurface.The foliage is a deep green to dull grey-green colour with a whitish bloom,they are concolorous, thick and have a narrow lanceolate shape. Adult leaves are disjunct, basally tapered with obscure lateral veins.It blooms through the winter from May to September producing flowers that range in colour from pink to red and are up to 4 to 5 centimetres (1.6 to 2.0 in) in diameter.It is a simple axillary conflorescence wuth three-flowered umbellasters on terete peduncles.Flowers are followed by large, urn-shaped gumnuts that are approximately 30 mm (1.2 in) in diameter. The species will also develop a lignotuber.Propagation is from seed which germinates readily.Two subspecies have been identified: caesia (about 6-9 metres tall) and magna (up to 15 metres tall). The bark is red-brown, of the curly minni ritchi type. Branches tend to flail or weep on the ground. Trees have large red-pink or white flowers, 40-50mm in diameter. They are widely grown as ornamental native plants, but have become rare in the wild.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Myrtales
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Family: Myrtaceae
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Genus: Eucalyptus
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