mallees

Noun

mallee (plural mallees)

1. (Australia) A type of scrubland with low-growing thick eucalypts, characteristic of certain parts of Australia.
   • The ecology of much Western Australian mallee is poorly understood, so only a few general points can be made here. Mallee dominated by eucalypts including Eucalyptus redunca and E. eremophilia is mapped as widespread (Beard, 1975) on areas of brown calcareous earths north of Esperance (Northcote et...1994, R. F. Parsons, “Eucalyptus Scrubs and Shrublands”, in R. H. Groves, editor, Australian Vegetation, 2nd edition, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 301
2. (Australia) Any semi-desert region of Australia where such scrub is the predominant vegetation.
   • Although not totally destitute of animal life, in the summer season very few living creatures, beyond innumerable tribes of insects, are to be found within the Mallee.1867 December, A. M., “Lost in the Mallee”, in The Colonial Monthly; an Australian Magazine, volume I (New Series), number 4, Melbourne, Vic.: Clarson, Massina, & Co., […]; Sydney: Gibbs, Shallard, &...
3. (Australia) Any of several low-growing eucalypts characteristic of such scrubland, especially Eucalyptus dumosa, Eucalyptus oleosa, and Eucalyptus socialis.
   • An immense tract of country in this district is entirely occupied by a "scrub," as it is called in Colonial language, consisting of the mallee plant, Eucalyptus dumosa, the leaves of which at certain seasons become covered with this species of manna, which is known to the natives by the name of...1851 January, Thomas Anderson, “On a New Species of Manna from New South Wales. [...] (From the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal for July, 1849.)”, in Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society...
4. (Australia) The growth habit of certain eucalypt species that grow with multiple stems springing from an underground lignotuber, shared by species of related genera.
   • [page 1-4, section 1.3] Of the many variations in form of the Eucalyptus (shrubs, mallees, trees, etc.), virtually all species being tested in the above category are those which exhibit good tree form (e.g., height, straightness of trunk, etc.). […] [page 2-1, section 2.2] Shrubby eucalypts are...1978 June, Eliseo O. Mariani; Warren A. Wood; Paul C. Kouchoukos; Mary Beth Minton; Marelco, Inc., “Introduction” and “The Eucalypts”, in The Eucalyptus Energy Farm: Feasibility Study and...

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