Wimmera mallee box facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wimmera mallee box |
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| Flowers of Eucalyptus wimmerensis | |
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Eucalyptus
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wimmerensis
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The Eucalyptus wimmerensis, often called the Wimmera mallee box or the broad-leaved green mallee, is a special type of mallee plant. It grows only in a specific area near the border between Victoria and South Australia in Australia. This plant usually has smooth bark and unique leaves. Its flowers are white, and its fruit looks like a small cup or barrel.
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What the Wimmera Mallee Box Looks Like
The Wimmera mallee box is a type of mallee that grows with many stems. It usually stands straight up and can reach about 4 meters (13 feet) tall. Sometimes, it might grow taller, up to 12 meters (39 feet), but it never becomes a large tree.
Bark and Leaves
This plant has smooth bark that can be grey, tan, or cream-colored. Sometimes, near the bottom of the plant, the bark might be a bit rough or fibrous.
When the plants are young, their leaves are a dull bluish-grey-green. These leaves are long and narrow, about 6.5 centimeters (2.5 inches) long and 1.6 centimeters (0.6 inches) wide. As the plant gets older, its leaves become glossy green on both sides. Adult leaves are also long and narrow, measuring about 5 to 8 centimeters (2 to 3 inches) long and 0.8 to 1.5 centimeters (0.3 to 0.6 inches) wide. Each leaf has a small stem, called a petiole, up to 1.3 centimeters (0.5 inches) long.
Flowers and Fruit
The flowers of the Wimmera mallee box grow in small groups. Each group has seven to eleven flower buds. These buds are shaped like a spindle or a club, about 0.5 to 0.6 centimeters (0.2 inches) long.
The plant blooms from summer into late autumn, and its flowers are white. After the flowers, the plant produces fruit. This fruit is a woody capsule that looks like a cup or a barrel. It is about 0.6 centimeters (0.2 inches) long and wide.
Where the Wimmera Mallee Box Grows
The Wimmera mallee box is found in different spots within the Little Desert National Park and nearby areas of South Australia. It is most common between the towns of Dimboola and Nhill, and also between Nhill and Kaniva.
This plant prefers to grow in sandy soils or gravelly loams. It is often found in areas with other mallee plants or in mixed mallee woodlands. You might even see it in areas that have been cleared for farming. Because of this, it can be tricky to know exactly where it grew naturally before human changes. Sometimes, you can find hybrid plants, which are a mix of the Wimmera mallee box and other types of mallees.
Naming the Wimmera Mallee Box
The scientific name for this plant, Eucalyptus wimmerensis, was first officially described in 1990. A scientist named Kevin James Rule wrote about it in a journal called Muelleria. He studied plant samples collected in 1964 by James Hamlyn Willis. These samples were found on the Lawloit Range, which is located between Nhill and Kaniva.
The second part of its scientific name, wimmerensis, comes from the Wimmera region in Victoria, Australia. This is where the plant is found.
In 2018, Kevin James Rule suggested there might be five different types (subspecies) of Eucalyptus wimmerensis. However, these names have not yet been officially accepted by the main group that lists Australian plants, the Australian Plant Census.
