mallee

American  

[mal-ee] / ˈmæl i /

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.

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mallee British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of mallee

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

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.

From Science Daily

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.

From New York Times

This Wimmera District tapers off into the mallee scrub, the old desert of Victoria, which has lain neglected for years, while Victorians have opened up country 2000 miles away.

From Project Gutenberg

"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."

From Project Gutenberg

Just as the mallee farmer is dependent on his annual wheat harvest, so the remarkable colony of people living on Cape Barren Island is entirely dependent on the annual Mutton-Bird harvest.

From Project Gutenberg