About Eucalyptus pruinosa Schauer
Eucalyptus pruinosa, commonly called silver box, is a tree or mallee that typically grows to a height of 2 to 7 metres, or taller, and forms a lignotuber. It has rough, grey, fibrous to flaky, sometimes fissured bark on its trunk and branches. Young plants and coppice regrowth have glaucous stems that are square in cross-section and prominently winged. The tree's crown is made up of juvenile leaves, which are the same glaucous colour on both sides, sessile, heart-shaped or elliptical, and arranged in opposite pairs. The leaves measure 90–140 mm long and 35–105 mm wide, with bases that surround the branchlet. Flower buds are arranged at the ends of branchlets in groups of seven, on a thick, branched peduncle 3–26 mm long, with individual buds attached to pedicels 2–12 mm long. Mature buds are spindle-shaped, oval or pear-shaped, 6–12 mm long and 3–4 mm wide, with a conical or beaked operculum. Flowering occurs between March and October, and the flowers are creamy white to pale yellow. The fruit is a woody cylindrical to conical capsule 5–11 mm long and 5–8 mm wide, with valves located near the rim level. The seeds are flattened to oval and blackish. Silver box grows in open savannah woodland communities on low limestone hills and low-lying flats, and grows best in sandy soils. It is widely distributed across northern Australia, from the Kimberley region of Western Australia to north-western Queensland. In Western Australia's Kimberley region, it occurs east of the Kwunaamin Miliwundi Ranges, in the Shire of Halls Creek and Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley. In the Northern Territory, it is found from Katherine to around Tennant Creek, including the Victoria Daly, Roper Gulf Regions, and Arnhem Land. In Queensland, it occurs as far east as Forsayth and Einasleigh, and as far south as Dajarra.
