Mount Day mallee facts for kids

Eucalyptus incerata, commonly known as the Mount Day mallee, is a special type of mallee tree. It only grows in southern Western Australia. This plant has smooth bark and unique leaves shaped like a spear. Its flower buds look like long horns, and they grow in groups of seven. When it flowers, you'll see pretty yellow blooms. After flowering, it produces fruit that looks like a small barrel or cup.

What the Mount Day Mallee Looks Like

The Mount Day mallee is a type of mallee. This means it's a small tree or large shrub that usually has many stems growing from a woody base called a lignotuber. It can grow to be about 3 to 12 meters (10 to 39 feet) tall. Its bark is smooth and a light grayish-brown color.

Leaves and Flowers

The adult leaves of this plant are shaped like a spear, which means they are long and narrow. They are the same shade of green on both sides. These leaves are about 50 to 105 millimeters (2 to 4 inches) long and 10 to 32 millimeters (0.4 to 1.3 inches) wide. They grow on a small stalk called a petiole, which is about 5 to 17 millimeters (0.2 to 0.7 inches) long.

The flower buds grow in groups of seven. They are found where the leaves meet the stem. Each group of buds sits on a single stalk called a peduncle, which is about 15 to 35 millimeters (0.6 to 1.4 inches) long. Each individual bud has its own small stalk, called a pedicel, about 7 to 12 millimeters (0.3 to 0.5 inches) long.

When the buds are ready to open, they look like long, thin spindles. They are about 22 to 35 millimeters (0.9 to 1.4 inches) long and 6 to 9 millimeters (0.2 to 0.4 inches) wide. The top part of the bud, called the operculum (which is like a cap), is at least twice as long as the base part, called the floral cup. This plant has been seen flowering in October, and its flowers are a creamy yellow color.

Fruit

After the flowers bloom, the plant produces fruit. This fruit is a woody capsule that looks like a barrel or a cup. It is about 10 to 15 millimeters (0.4 to 0.6 inches) long and 9 to 18 millimeters (0.4 to 0.7 inches) wide. The parts that open to release the seeds, called valves, are almost level with the rim of the fruit.

How the Mount Day Mallee Got Its Name

Eucalyptus incerata was first officially described in 2002. It was named by two scientists, Ian Brooker and Stephen Hopper. They studied a sample of the plant collected in 1983 near a place called Mount Day. This area is located between Hyden and Norseman.

The description of the plant was published in a science journal called Nuytsia. The second part of its scientific name, incerata, comes from a Latin word meaning 'covered with wax'. This name was chosen because the small branches, buds, and fruit of this plant often have a waxy coating.

Where the Mount Day Mallee Lives

The Mount Day mallee grows in areas called mallee scrub. These are places with many mallee trees and shrubs. You can find it on sandy plains and along ridges. It grows between the towns of Hyden, Norseman, and Coolgardie, Western Australia.

This plant prefers to grow in yellow, sandy soils that contain laterite, which is a type of soil rich in iron and aluminum. It is found in specific natural regions of Western Australia, including the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, and Mallee areas.

Conservation Status

The good news is that the Mount Day mallee is currently classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife. This means that there are enough of these plants in the wild, and they are not considered to be in danger of disappearing.