''Eucalyptus dumosa'', commonly known as the white mallee, dumosa mallee, or Congoo mallee, is a species of mallee that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to south eastern Australia. It usually has rough, flaky grey bark on the lower trunk, smooth bark above, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped, cylindrical or barrel-shaped fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus dumosa'' is a mallee that typically grows to a height of , occasionally and a width of with an open, bushy, spreading

habit A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.

. It usually has rough, flaky or fibrous greyish bark on the base of the trunk, smooth, whitish or yellow-white, weathering to grey or pinkish-grey bark above. The bark sheds in long thin ribbons. Young plants and

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeated ...

regrowth have petiolate, egg-shaped to broadly lance-shaped leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are the same dull bluish green to greyish green on both sides, lance-shaped to curved, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s in groups of seven on a peduncle long, the individual buds on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long. Mature buds are cylindrical, green or red, long and wide with a conical to

turban A turban (from Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promine ...

-shaped, striated operculum. Flowering occurs from late summer to mid autumn and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped to cylindrical or barrel-shaped capsule long and wide.

Taxonomy and naming

The name ''Eucalyptus dumosa'' was mentioned in

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps best known for his two exp ...

's ''Journals of two expeditions into the interior of New South Wales'' published in 1820. Oxley recorded that the name was used by the botanist Allan Cunningham who accompanied the expedition. Oxley referred to "those dreadful scrubs of eucalyptus dumosa" and "thick brushes of eucalyptus that spread in every direction around us ''eucalyptus dumosa'', or the dwarf gum, as they never exceed twenty feet in height, ... spreading out into a bushy circle from their roots in such a manner that it is impossible to see farther than from one bush to the other". The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''dumosa'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning "bushy", referring to the habit of the plant.

Distribution and habitat

White mallee is found in the relatively dry country of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

from the northern

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabi ...

and

Murray Mallee The Murray Mallee is the grain-growing and sheep-farming area of South Australia bounded to the north and west by the Murray River (in South Australia, "River Murray"), to the east by the Victorian border, and extending about 50 km south ...

eastwards to

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Gol ...

in central western

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Swan Hill Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At , Swan Hill had a population of 11,508. Indigenous Peopl ...

in north western

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. It is one of the most wide-spread mallee species.

Uses

The leaves are steam

distilled Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heating ...

as a commercial source of

cineole Eucalyptol is a monoterpenoid. A colorless liquid, it is a bicyclic ether. Eucalyptol has a fresh mint-like smell and a spicy, cooling taste. It is insoluble in water, but miscible with organic solvents. Eucalyptol makes up ~70% - 90% of eucal ...

based

eucalyptus oil Eucalyptus oil is the generic name for distilled oil from the leaf of ''Eucalyptus'', a genus of the plant family Myrtaceae native to Australia and cultivated worldwide. Eucalyptus oil has a history of wide application, as a pharmaceutical, ant ...

. It is used as a component of mass plantings along with other mallee species on wide roadside verges as a screen, wind-break, erosion control or a shade tree.

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

s use the tree as a source of food, drink, medicines and to make containers and implements. A sweet

manna Manna ( he, מָן, mān, ; ar, اَلْمَنُّ; sometimes or archaically spelled mana) is, according to the Bible, an edible substance which God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert during the 40-year period follow ...

-like substance is produced upon the leaves of the tree, it is made into a drink. The bark of young roots is baked and eaten, it is sweet, resembling

malt Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, wh ...

in flavour. The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia’ records that common names included "Bastard Box" and "

Coolibah ''Eucalyptus coolabah'', commonly known as coolibah or coolabah, is a species of tree found in eastern inland Australia. It has rough bark on part or all of the trunk, smooth powdery cream to pink bark above, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves ...

" and that "These Eucalypts ic. amongst others, yield water from their roots...", and "a kind of manna called Lerp or Larp by the aboriginals ic. It is the

nidus Nidus may refer to: * Nidus (nest), for insects or small animals * The characteristic lesion in osteoid osteoma * The centre of a bladder stone * The material around which an enterolith An enterolith is a mineral concretion or calculus formed a ...

of an insect, and consists of starch-like substance, which is eaten in summer by the aborigines ic.of the mallee country of Victoria. It somewhat resembles in appearance small shells; it is sweet, and in colour white or yellowish-white. According to Dr. Thomas Dobson, of

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

, the insect which causes the Lerp to form is '' Psylla Eucalypti'', now called ''Ctenarytaina eucalypti''. It is probably formed on the leaves of other mallee Eucalypts. This substance occurs on the leaves, and consists of white threads clotted together by a syrup proceeding from the insect (''Psylla Eucalypti'') which spins those threads. It contains, in round numbers, of water 14 parts, thread-like portion 33 parts, sugar 53 parts. The threads possess many of the characteristic properties of starch, from which, however, they are sharply distinguished by their form. When lerp is washed with water the sugar dissolves and the threads swell but slightly, but dissolve to a slight extent, so that the solution is coloured blue by

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

. The threads freed from sugar by washing consist of a substance called Lerp-amylum. Lerp-amylum is very slightly soluble in cold water, not perceptibly more so in water at 100°". It is also suitable to produce large amounts of

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

, able to make per hectare per year. In wheatbelt regions it is also beneficial as the tree will reduce salinity, give shade to stock, act as a windbreak and reduce erosion.

References

External links