Mallee are trees or shrubs, mainly certain species of eucalypts, which grow with multiple stems springing from an underground lignotuber or xylopodium, usually to a height of no more than 10 m (33 ft). The term is widely used for trees with this growth habit across southern Australia, in the states of Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria, and has given rise to other uses of the term, including the ecosystems where such trees predominate, specific geographic areas within some of the states and as part of various species' names.
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👉 Mallee (habit) in the context of Eucalyptus
A eucalyptus (/ˌjuːkəˈlɪptəs/) is a plant in the genus Eucalyptus, which consists of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of eucalyptus are trees, often mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including Corymbia and Angophora, they are commonly known as eucalypts or "gum trees". Eucalyptuses have bark that is either smooth, fibrous, hard, or stringy and leaves that have oil glands. The sepals and petals are fused to form a "cap" or operculum over the stamens, hence the name from Greek eû ("well") and kaluptós ("covered"). The fruit is a woody capsule commonly referred to as a "gumnut".
Most species of eucalyptus are native to Australia, and every state and territory has representative species. About three-quarters of Australian forests are eucalypt forests. Many eucalypt species have adapted to wildfire, are able to resprout after fire, or have seeds that survive fire.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Mallee (habit)
- 👉 Mallee (habit) in the context of Eucalyptus
- Mallee (habit) in the context of Coolgardie woodlands
- Mallee (habit) in the context of Lignotuber
- Mallee (habit) in the context of Eucalyptus stricta
- Mallee (habit) in the context of Xylopodium
- Mallee (habit) in the context of Eucalyptus erythrocorys
Mallee (habit) in the context of Coolgardie woodlands
The Coolgardie woodlands is an ecoregion in southern Western Australia. The predominant vegetation is woodlands and mallee scrub. The ecoregion is a transitional zone between the Mediterranean-climate forests, woodlands, and shrublands of Southwest Australia and the deserts and dry scrublands of the Australian interior.
Mallee (habit) in the context of Lignotuber
A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a response to coppicing or other environmental stressors. However, lignotubers are specifically part of the normal course of development of the plants that possess them, and often develop early on in growth. The crown contains buds from which new stems may sprout, as well as stores of starch that can support a period of growth in the absence of photosynthesis. The term "lignotuber" was coined in 1924 by Australian botanist Leslie R. Kerr.
Plants possessing lignotubers include many species in Australia; Eucalyptus marginata (jarrah), Eucalyptus brevifolia (snappy gum) and Eucalyptus ficifolia (scarlet gum) all of which can have lignotubers 3 m (10 ft) wide and 1 m (3 ft) deep, as well as most mallees (where it is also known as a mallee root) and many Banksia species.
Mallee (habit) in the context of Eucalyptus stricta
Eucalyptus stricta, commonly known as Blue Mountains mallee ash, is a mallee that is endemic to eastern New South Wales. It has smooth, mottled bark, often with insect scribbles, linear to lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and urn-shaped to barrel-shaped fruit.
Mallee (habit) in the context of Xylopodium
A xylopodium is an underground storage growth which is multibranched and may cover a circle 9 metres (30 ft) diameter. They differ from lignotubers which are more compact in form, like a tuber. They are most common in the cerrados of Brazil even including a monocot (Smilax goyazana), but the mallee roots of Australia are more like xylopodia than lignotubers sensu stricto.
Mallee (habit) in the context of Eucalyptus erythrocorys
Eucalyptus erythrocorys, commonly known as illyarrie, red-capped gum or helmet nut gum, is a species of tree or mallee from Western Australia. It has smooth bark, sickle-shaped to curved adult leaves, characteristically large flower buds in groups of three with a bright red operculum, bright yellow to yellowish green flowers and sculptured, bell-shaped fruit.