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. the mallee 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

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

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

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

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.

From Project Gutenberg

The mallee scrub is formed by a species of dwarf eucalyptus, the mulga scrub by a species of thorny acacia.

From Project Gutenberg