Mallee (habit)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Mallee.

A woodland of trees and mallees in southern Western Australia

Mallee is the growth habit of woody plants that grow with multiple stems springing from an underground lignotuber, usually to a height of no more than ten metres. It is most common in plants of the genus Eucalyptus, many of which naturally grow in a mallee habit, and some of which grow as single-stemmed trees initially but recover in mallee form if burnt to the ground by bushfire. The word mallee may also be used as a noun in reference to species or individual plants with a mallee habit.

Mallees are the dominant vegetation throughout semi-arid areas of Australia with reliable winter rainfall. Within this area, they form extensive woodlands and shrublands covering over 250,000 square kilometres. Thus mallee woodlands and shrublands are considered one of Australia's Major Vegetation Groups.

Widespread mallee species include: