Apple mallee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Apple mallee
Eucalyptus buprestium in the Stirling Range
Scientific classification
Genus:	Eucalyptus
Species:	buprestium

The Eucalyptus buprestium, also called the apple mallee or ball-fruited mallee, is a small tree or bush. It is a type of mallee, which means it has many stems growing from a woody base. This plant is only found in a specific area along the south coast of Western Australia.

The apple mallee has smooth bark and narrow, long leaves. Its flower buds grow in groups of nine to fifteen. When the flowers bloom, they are white. After flowering, the plant produces round fruits with a small opening.

What Does the Apple Mallee Look Like?

The apple mallee is a mallee plant that usually grows to be about 1 to 6 meters (3 to 20 feet) tall. It has a special woody swelling at its base called a lignotuber. This helps the plant regrow after fires.

Its bark is smooth and can be greenish-brown and cream-colored. As it gets older, the bark turns grey and peels off in long strips. Young plants have dull green leaves that are shaped like an oval. These leaves are about 45 to 70 mm (1.8 to 2.8 inches) long and 15 to 20 mm (0.6 to 0.8 inches) wide. They grow directly from the stem without a stalk.

Adult leaves are arranged differently. They are greyish-green and shaped like a narrow spear. These leaves are about 30 to 77 mm (1.2 to 3.0 inches) long and 6 to 10 mm (0.2 to 0.4 inches) wide. They grow on a small stalk called a petiole, which is 4 to 10 mm (0.2 to 0.4 inches) long.

The flower buds grow in groups of nine to fifteen. Each group is on a stalk called a peduncle, which is 10 to 20 mm (0.4 to 0.8 inches) long. Each individual flower has its own tiny stalk, called a pedicel, which is 2 to 5 mm (0.08 to 0.2 inches) long.

The mature buds are oval or pear-shaped. They are about 5 to 6 mm (0.20 to 0.24 inches) long and 3 to 5 mm (0.12 to 0.20 inches) wide. They have a rounded cap, called an operculum, which sometimes has a small point.

The apple mallee flowers from September to December, and sometimes even as late as April. Its flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, almost perfectly round capsule. It is about 18 to 25 mm (0.7 to 1.0 inches) long and 20 to 30 mm (0.8 to 1.2 inches) wide. The fruit has a small opening where the seeds are released.

How Was the Apple Mallee Named?

The apple mallee was first officially described by a botanist named Ferdinand von Mueller. He wrote about it in 1862 in his book Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae.

The plant's scientific name, buprestium, comes from the name of a type of beetle called Bupestris. This name was chosen because these mallees were very attractive to some beetles.

This species is part of a larger group of Eucalyptus plants. These plants are all mallees and share similar features. For example, their adult leaves stand upright, and their buds have a single cap.

Where Does the Apple Mallee Grow?

The apple mallee is found in Western Australia. It grows along the south coast, in areas that are either right on the coast or very close to it. You can find it in the Great Southern region.

Its range stretches from Albany in the west to Mount Barker in the north, and all the way to Jerramungup in the east. It prefers to grow in gravelly, sandy-clay soils.

Images for kids

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  Flower buds of the apple mallee

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  Fruit of the apple mallee

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  An old drawing of Eucalyptus buprestium from Eucalyptographia