Systematics and conservation of Western Australian Eucalypts
Eucalyptus caesia Benth. (Myrtaceae) pollinated by Western Pygmy Possum, Boyagin Nature Reserve in the Southwest Australian Floristic Region.
Photo: © S.D. Hopper
The eucalypts, or gum trees, belong to the Myrtaceae, encompassing the genus Eucalyptus and also the closely-related genera Corymbia and Angophora. There are more than 900 species of eucalypts and almost all of these are endemic to Australia, with a small number occurring in New Guinea and Indonesia. One species, Eucalyptus deglupta extends into the northern hemisphere, occurring in the southern Philippines. The eucalypts span a wide range of habitats and therefore form an important component of many plant communities, dominating a large proportion of the Australian landscape. They are also of major economic value in many countries for timber, fuelwood and fibre, and have become serious invasive weeds in some countries. Among Australia’s States and Territories, Western Australia has the greatest diversity and most extensive communities of eucalypts and this is therefore an important region for the study of the group.
This project, commenced in 1978, aimed at establishing an inventory of WA eucalypts, documenting their distribution, and assessing their conservation status. The projects that developed have involved collaborative studies with several colleagues, and have provided insights into a number of aspects of eucalypt systematics, biogeography, evolution and ecology relevant to ensuring conservation of these important trees, dominant in so much of Western Australia's vegetation.
Project Team
Directorate
Stephen Hopper, Rhian Smith
Project Partners and Collaborators
Australia
Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Perth
CSIRO, Canberra