Eucalyptus tardecidens (Eucalyptus tardecidens)
Description
A mature eucalyptus may take the form of a low shrub or a very large tree. The species can be divided into three main habits and four size categories. As a generalisation "forest trees" are single-stemmed and have a crown forming a minor proportion of the whole tree height. "Woodland trees" are single-stemmed, although they may branch at a short distance above ground level. "Mallees" are multistemmed from ground level, usually less than 10 m (33 ft) in height, often with the crown predominantly at the ends of the branchlets and individual plants may combine to form either an open or closed formation. Many mallee trees may be so low-growing as to be considered a shrub.Two other tree forms are notable in Western Australia and described using the native names "mallet" and "marlock". The "mallet" is a small to medium-sized tree that does not produce lignotubers and has a relatively long trunk, a steeply branching habit and often a conspicuously dense terminal crown. This is the normal habit of mature healthy specimens of Eucalyptus occidentalis, E. astringens, E. spathulata, E. gardneri, E. dielsii, E. forrestiana, E. salubris, E. clivicola, and E. ornata. The smooth bark of mallets often has a satiny sheen and may be white, cream, grey, green, or copper.The term marlock has been variously used; in Forest Trees of Australia, it is defined as a small tree without lignotubers, but with a shorter, lower-branching trunk than a mallet. They usually grow in more or less pure stands. Clearly recognisable examples are stands of E. platypus, E. vesiculosa, and the unrelated E. stoatei.The term "morrell" is somewhat obscure in origin and appears to apply to trees of the western Australian wheatbelt and goldfields which have a long, straight trunk, completely rough-barked. It is now used mainly for E. longicornis (red morrell) and E. melanoxylon (black morrell).
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Myrtales
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Family: Myrtaceae
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Genus: Eucalyptus
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