''Eucalyptus viridis'', commonly known as the green mallee, is a species of mallee or small tree 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, continental Australia. It has rough fibrous or flaky bark on the lower trunk, smooth bark above, linear to narrow lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers and cup-shaped fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus viridis'' is a mallee or small tree that typically grows to a height of and forms a

lignotuber A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a response t ...

. It has rough, dark grey, fibrous or flaky bark on the lower stems, smooth greyish brown above, or sometimes entirely smooth bark. Yount 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 linear to narrow lance-shaped or narrow elliptical leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are glossy green, narrow linear to narrow lance-shaped, curved or narrow elliptical leaves that are long and wide, tapering to a petiole up to long. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets in groups of seven or nine on an branched peduncle long, the individual buds on

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

long. Mature buds are oval to diamond-shaped, long and wide with a conical operculum. Flowering has been observed in most months and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus viridis'' was first formally described in 1900 by

Richard Thomas Baker Richard Thomas Baker (1 December 1854 – 14 July 1941) was an Australian economic botanist, museum curator and educator. Early life Baker was born in Woolwich, England, son of Richard Thomas Baker, a blacksmith, and his wife Sarah, née Colkett. ...

in the ''

Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales ( Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society suc ...

''. 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 ...

(''viridis'') 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 "green".

Distribution and habitat

The green mallee grows in mallee shrubland on plains and gently undulating country. It occurs in Queensland, mainly south from

Taroom Taroom is a town in the Shire of Banana and locality split between the Shire of Banana and the Western Downs Region in Queensland, Australia. At the , Taroom had a population of 869 people. Geography The town is located on the Dawson River ...

, through the western slopes and plains of New South Wales, near

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

and in the

Little Desert National Park The Little Desert National Park is a national park in the Wimmera Mallee region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated near Dimboola, approximately west of Melbourne and extends from the Wimmera River in the east to the South ...

in Victoria to the south east of South Australia.

Uses

This eucalypt is important in the production of honey and the leaves are harvested for

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 eucaly ...

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 ...

.Boland, D.J., Brophy, J.J., and A.P.N. House, ''Eucalyptus Leaf Oils'', 1991,

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4529689 viridis Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of South Australia Myrtales of Australia Mallees (habit) Plants described in 1900 Taxa named by Richard Thomas Baker

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution and habitat

Uses

See also

References