Kingdom Plantae Family Myrtaceae Rank Species | Order Myrtales Genus Eucalyptus | |
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Similar Eucalyptus eremophila, Eucalyptus cretata, Eucalyptus gillii, Eucalyptus triflora, Eucalyptus lansdowneana | ||
Eucalyptus gamophylla, commonly known as warilu, blue-leaved mallee, blue desert mallee or the twin-leaved mallee, is a mallee that is native to Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Contents
Description
The evergreen multi-stemmed mallee typically grows to a height of 1.5 to 7 metres (5 to 23 ft) and forms a lignotuber. It has rough, hard, stringy-fibrous, yellow-brown to grey bark on the trunk and smooth, yellow-tan to cream bark above. The bark is shed in shreds in short ribbons. Adult leaves are dull and greyish in colour they are sessile and 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in length and 2 cm (0.8 in) wide with a ovate to lanceolate shape.
It blooms from October to December or January to March and produces flowers that are white or cream in colour. Flowers are terminal or axillary in clusters or few-branched panicles in groups of three. Buds are cylinder-shaped to pear-shaped 7 mm (0.28 in) in length and 45 mm (1.8 in) wide, on very short stalk. Smooth pruinose fruit will form later that are narrowly cone to cylinder-shaped about to 16 mm (0.63 in) long and 7 mm (0.28 in) wide.
Range
It is found on sandplains and sand dunes and in stony spinifex country. It has a range extending from the Mid West, Pilbara and Goldfields-Esperance regions of central Western Australia. extending east into central and southern areas of the Northern Territory and the far north of South Australia.
Cultivation
E. gamophylla is drought tolerant and hardy in the cold able to tolerate temperatures as low as 10 to 15 °F (−12 to −9 °C) and frost tolerant. When cultivated for the garden it is bird attracting, fast growing, requires very little maintenance and can provide plenty of aromatic cut foliage for flower arrangements.