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Mallee (habit)
Encyclopedia
Mallee is the growth habit
of certain eucalypt
species that grow with multiple stems springing from an underground lignotuber
, usually to a height of no more than ten metres. It is most common in plants of the genus
Eucalyptus
, many of which naturally grow in a mallee habit, and some of which grow as single-stemmed tree
s initially but recover in mallee form if burnt to the ground by bushfire. It also occurs in the closely related genera Corymbia
and Angophora
. The word mallee may also be used as a noun
in reference to species or individual plants with a mallee habit.
Mallees are the dominant vegetation throughout semi-arid areas of Australia
with reliable winter rainfall. Within this area, they form extensive woodlands and shrublands covering over 250,000 square kilometres. Thus mallee woodlands and shrublands
are considered one of Australia's Major Vegetation Groups.
Widespread mallee species include:
The Malleefowl
is a bird
characteristic of this habitat.
An example of a mallee in a high rainfall area is the rare Yellow Top Mallee Ash.
Habit (biology)
Habit, when used in the context of biology, refers to the instinctive actions of animals and the natural tendencies of plants.In zoology, this term most often refers to specific behavioral characteristics, even when directly related to physiology...
of certain eucalypt
Eucalypt
Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...
species that grow with multiple stems springing from an underground lignotuber
Lignotuber
A lignotuber is a starchy swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem by fire. The crown contains buds from which new stems may sprout, and a sufficient store of nutrients to support a period of growth in the absence of...
, usually to a height of no more than ten metres. It is most common in plants of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, many of which naturally grow in a mallee habit, and some of which grow as single-stemmed tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s initially but recover in mallee form if burnt to the ground by bushfire. It also occurs in the closely related genera Corymbia
Corymbia
Corymbia is a genus of about 113 species of tree that were classified as Eucalyptus species until the mid-1990s. It includes the bloodwoods, ghost gums and spotted gums. The bloodwoods had been recognised as a distinct group within the large and diverse Eucalyptus genus since 1867...
and Angophora
Angophora
Angophora is a genus of ten species of trees or large shrubs in the myrtle family , native to eastern Australia. It is closely related to Corymbia and Eucalyptus, and all three are often referred to as "eucalypts". The differences are that Angophora have opposite leaves rather than alternate, and...
. The word mallee may also be used as a noun
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
in reference to species or individual plants with a mallee habit.
Mallees are the dominant vegetation throughout semi-arid areas of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
with reliable winter rainfall. Within this area, they form extensive woodlands and shrublands covering over 250,000 square kilometres. Thus mallee woodlands and shrublands
Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands
Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands is a Major Vegetation Group which occurs in semi-arid areas of southern Australia. The vegetation is dominated by mallee eucalypts which are rarely over 6 metres high...
are considered one of Australia's Major Vegetation Groups.
Widespread mallee species include:
- E. dumosaEucalyptus dumosaEucalyptus dumosa, White Mallee is a mallee of the relatively dry country of South Australia from the northern Flinders Ranges and Murray Mallee eastwards to central western New South Wales and north western Victoria...
(White Mallee) - E. socialis (Red Mallee)
- E. gracilis (Yorrell)
- E. oleosaEucalyptus oleosaEucalyptus oleosa, red mallee, is a native tree of Australia. The leaves were once harvested for the production of cineole based eucalyptus oil. These days Eucalyptus cneorifolia is used because of a higher oil content in new growth....
(Red Mallee) - E. incrassata (Ridge-fruited Mallee)
- E. diversifolia (Soap Mallee)
The Malleefowl
Malleefowl
The Malleefowl is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken...
is a bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
characteristic of this habitat.
An example of a mallee in a high rainfall area is the rare Yellow Top Mallee Ash.