Eucalyptus × nepeanensis is a species of medium-sized tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae). It is characterized by fibrous or flaky "box-type" bark on the lower trunk, lance-shaped leaves that are the same shade of green on both sides, flower buds arranged in leaf axils in groups of six or more, and hemispherical to pear-shaped fruit.
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
The taxon was first described in 1920 by botanists Richard Thomas Baker and Henry George Smith, who named it Eucalyptus nepeanensis based on specimens collected at St Marys, New South Wales. The description was published in their book A Research on the Eucalypts especially in regard to their Essential Oils (2nd edition).
In 1922, Joseph Maiden treated the name as a synonym of Eucalyptus bosistoana in his work A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus. Later, in 1988, George Chippendale listed E. nepeanensis as a "probable hybrid" in Volume 19 of Flora of Australia, which is reflected in the hybrid notation (×) in the accepted name.
The name Eucalyptus × nepeanensis is accepted by the Australian Plant Census, though Plants of the World Online (POWO) currently lists it as an unplaced name. The World Flora Online reports it as an accepted name within the family Myrtaceae.
Distribution
The species is associated with the Nepean region of New South Wales, Australia, as suggested by its specific epithet "nepeanensis," which refers to the Nepean River area west of Sydney.
