Purple-leaved mallee facts for kids

The purple-leaved mallee, also known by its scientific name Eucalyptus pluricaulis, is a special type of eucalyptus tree. It only grows in Western Australia. This tree has smooth bark and leaves that are a dull bluish-green color. Its flowers are pale yellow, and they grow in groups of nine to fifteen buds. After flowering, it produces fruit that looks like a small barrel.

What Does the Purple-leaved Mallee Look Like?

The Eucalyptus pluricaulis is a mallee, which means it's a type of eucalyptus that usually has many stems growing from the ground. It typically grows to be about 1 to 5 meters (3 to 16 feet) tall. This plant has a special woody swelling at its base called a lignotuber. This helps it regrow after a bushfire.

Its bark is smooth and greyish. When new bark grows, it often looks copper-colored. The adult leaves are a dull bluish-green on both sides. They are about 50 to 105 millimeters (2 to 4 inches) long and 7 to 20 millimeters (0.3 to 0.8 inches) wide. The leaves narrow down to a stalk called a petiole, which is about 8 to 17 millimeters (0.3 to 0.7 inches) long.

Flowers and Fruit

The flower buds grow in the leaf axils (the spot where a leaf meets the stem). They appear in groups of nine to fifteen buds. These groups are on a stem called a peduncle, which is 8 to 17 millimeters (0.3 to 0.7 inches) long. Each individual bud has its own small stalk, or pedicel, up to 6 millimeters (0.2 inches) long.

When the buds are ready, they are long and spindle-shaped. They measure about 17 to 28 millimeters (0.7 to 1.1 inches) long and 3 to 5 millimeters (0.1 to 0.2 inches) wide. Each bud has a horn-shaped cap called an operculum. This cap is three or four times longer than the base of the flower, which is called the floral cup.

The purple-leaved mallee flowers from March to September. Its flowers are a pale yellow color. After the flowers, the plant produces fruit. This fruit is a woody capsule that looks like a cylinder or a barrel. It is about 7 to 11 millimeters (0.3 to 0.4 inches) long and 5 to 7 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 inches) wide. The parts that open to release the seeds are almost level with the rim of the fruit.

How Was This Plant Named?

The Eucalyptus pluricaulis was first officially described in 1991. Two scientists, Ian Brooker and Stephen Hopper, wrote about it in a science journal called Nuytsia. They described it from plant samples that Brooker collected in 1982 near the Coorow-Greenhead Road.

The second part of its scientific name, pluricaulis, comes from Latin words. "Plus" or "pluris" means "more" or "several," and "caulis" means "stem." This name refers to how this eucalyptus grows with many stems, which is typical for a mallee.

Subspecies of Purple-leaved Mallee

In the same journal, Brooker and Hopper also described two different types, or subspecies, of Eucalyptus pluricaulis. Both of these names are now officially accepted:

• Eucalyptus pluricaulis subsp. pluricaulis: This subspecies is an upright mallee. It has bluish-green leaves and usually up to eleven buds in each group.
• Eucalyptus pluricaulis subsp. prophyrea: This subspecies is a low, sprawling mallee. It has purplish leaves and can have up to fifteen flowers in each group.

Where Does This Mallee Grow?

The subspecies pluricaulis grows in tall mallee woodlands. You can often find it on slopes near rocky areas. It grows from places like Three Springs and the Lesueur National Park all the way to Southern Cross and Ravensthorpe.

The subspecies porphyrea grows in mallee areas between Tarin Rock, the Fitzgerald River National Park, and the Stirling Range. All these places are in Western Australia.

Is the Purple-leaved Mallee Safe?

The Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife has looked at both subspecies of this mallee eucalyptus. They have classified them as "not threatened." This means that, for now, there are enough of these plants, and they are not in danger of disappearing.