Eucalyptus arenicola, commonly known as the Holey Plains peppermint or Gippsland Lakes peppermint, is a tree or mallee that is endemic to south-east coastal areas of Victoria. It has rough, fibrous bark on its trunk and branches, glossy green, lance-shaped adult leaves, club-shaped buds arranged in groups of eleven to twenty five, white flowers and cup-shaped to hemispherical fruit.
Eucalyptus arenicola is a tree or a mallee, growing to a height of about NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 with rough, greyish, fibrous bark on the trunk and branches. The leaves on young plants are arranged in opposite pairs, more or less linear to lance-shaped or egg-shaped, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide, bluish green on the upper surface and whitish below. The adult leaves are lance-shaped, often curved, NaNsigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 long and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide on a petiole up to 16sigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 long. They are more or less the same colour on both surfaces. The flower buds are arranged in groups of eleven to twenty five on a peduncle NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, the individual buds on a pedicel NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long. The mature buds are green to yellow, oval to club-shaped with a rounded operculum. Flowering occurs in winter and the flowers are white. The fruit is cup-shaped to hemispherical, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide.[1] [2] [3]
Eucalyptus arenicola was first formally described in 2008 by Kevin James Rule and the description was published in the journal Muelleria.[4] The specific epithet (arenicola) is derived from the Latin words arena meaning "sand",[5] and -cola meaning "dweller", referring to the species' habitat.
The Holey Plains peppermint grows in sandy soils in coastal and near-coastal areas near the Gippsland Lakes between Bairnsdale and the Holey Plains.