Eucalyptus tetraptera
Appearance
Square-fruited mallee | |
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Eucalyptus tetraptera, juvenile | |
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Species: | E. tetraptera
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Binomial name | |
Eucalyptus tetraptera |
Eucalyptus tetraptera, Square-fruited mallee,also Four-winged mallee[1] is a low, straggly mallee with smooth, grey or whitish-grey bark. Juvenile leaves are stalked, ovate to broadly elliptical, to 12 x 7 cm. Adult leaves are stalked, elliptical to lanceolate, thick, to 25 x 7 cm, concolorous and glossy green. Flowers are pink in late winter to mid summer. Fruit is red, sessile, oblong and winged along corners to 5 x 4.2 cm.
The distribution is limited to coastal sandplains of southern Western Australia, from the Stirling Ranges east to Israelite Bay.
E. tetragona is one of the most bizarre of the eucalypts with its spectacular, large, red buds and fruit. A popular ornamental.[2]