mallee

[mal-ee]

noun

1. any of various dwarf Australian eucalyptuses, as Eucalyptus dumosa and E. oleosa, that sometimes form large tracts of brushwood.

2. the brushwood itself.

mallee

/ ˈmæliː /

noun

1. any of several low shrubby eucalyptus trees that flourish in desert regions of Australia

2. informal,  another name for the bush 1

3. See mallee root

Word History and Origins

Origin of mallee¹

First recorded in 1840–50; from Wergaia (an Australian Aboriginal language spoken in the Wimmera area, Victoria) mali

Word History and Origins

Origin of mallee¹

C19: native Australian name

Example Sentences

"I discovered the species while surveying a rare plant in the Goldfields and noticed this bee visiting both the endangered wildflower and a nearby mallee tree," Dr. Prendergast said.

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She was at the house she built, surrounded by mallee trees and filled with prints of her own wildlife photographs: grizzly bears from a trip to Alaska, a small chameleon on an electric-green leaf.

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No surface water is to be obtained in the mallee district; its silence is only disturbed by the melancholy wail of the dingo.

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"I guess it would be easier to find a scrubber in the mallee than to get on the track of a man who is hiding himself here."

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Stat. v.r. mallee, scrub        8 Upper brown; wings brown barred white; tail brown, slightly tipped white; under grayish-brown; long legs; shy, runs; f., smaller.

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