Eucalyptus infera (Durikai Mallee)

EucalyptusEucalyptus Index Corymbia aparrerinja (Ghost Gum) Eucalyptus camaldulensis (River Red Gum) Eucalyptus erythrocorys (Red-capped Gum) Eucalyptus gamophylla (Blue Mallee) Eucalyptus infera (Durikai Mallee) Eucalyptus orbifolia (Round Leaf Mallee) Eucalyptus pachyphylla (Red-bud Mallee) Eucalyptus platypus (Coastal Moort) Eucalyptus woodwardii (Lemon-flowered Gum)

The Eucalyptus infera, commonly known as the Durikai Mallee, is a species of mallee that can grow to 8 metres tall, forming a lignotuber and is endemic to Queensland.

The bark is smooth, shiny, grey to coppery to olive-green in colour. The leaves are broadly lance-shaped to egg-shaped. The flower buds in groups of between nine to eighteen, has white flowers and hemispherical fruit.

Eucalyptus infera at Ballandean but endemic to Durakai state Forest about 50 km west of Warwick Qld. The photo is showing the operculum (cap) dehisced (separated from the hypanthium) but still enclosing the stamens and the pollen. I found some native bees were able to remove the operculum and gain access to the pollen a feat that honey bees didn’t seem to be able to do.

I co-authored an article with my German friend Bernhard Jacobi about this ability and can be viewed here: Operculum-lifting behaviour in the Eucalypt-visiting hylaeine bees by Marc Newman & Bernhard Jacobi, bembiX Nr.32 Dezember 2011
Author Marc Newman

Check out our page on the Operculum lifting behaviour, with some great photos by Marc Newman.

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Charophyta
Class: Equisetopsida
Subclass: Magnoliidae
Superorder: Rosanae
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species: Eucalyptus infera

Footnote & References

Eucalyptus infera A.R.Bean, Durikai Mallee, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2900453
Eucalyptus infera, iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/1076379-Eucalyptus-infera
Eucalyptus infera, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus_infera (last visited Sept. 25, 2022)

FloraFlora in Australia Flora Index Acacia Anigozanthos (Kangaroo Paws) Annual Yellowtop Apium prostratum subsp. prostratum var filiforme Apple Bush (Pterocaulon sphacelatum) Australian Bluebell Australian Gossypium Banksia Batswing Coral Tree Billy Buttons Birdsville Indigo Blue Pincushion Bush Banana Callistemon Callitris drummondii (Drummond’s Cypress Pine) Calothamnus quadrifidus Cape Honeysuckle Cassia fistula (Golden Shower) Cattle Bush Common Heath Crotalaria Darwinia wittwerorum (Wittwer’s Mountain Bell) Daviesia oppositifolia (Rattle-pea) Desert Oaks Drumsticks Eremophila Eucalyptus Ficus Flannel Cudweed (Actinobole uliginosum) Georges Indigo Goatshead Burr (Sclerolaena bicornis) Golden Everlasting Goodenia Gossypium Grass and Grasses Grass Trees Grevillea Grey Germander Hakea Kapok Bush (Aerva javanica) Lambertia sp Leptospermum MacDonnell Ranges Cycad Maireana scleroptera Mexican Poppy Minnie Daisy Mistletoe Family Nardoo Native Apricot Nicotiana megalosiphon subspecies sessilifolia Nuytsia floribunda Orange Spade Flower Orchidaceae Parakeelyas (Calandrinia) Pebble Bush (Stylobasium spathulatum) Perennial Yellow Top Pink Everlasting Pink Rock Wort Poached Egg Daisy Portulaca Proteaceae Ptilotus Quandong Resurrection Fern Rosy Dock Ruby Saltbush Santalum Solanum Spike Centaury Spinifex Storkbill (Erodum cygnorum) Striped Mint Bush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tall Saltbush Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Tribulus eichlerianus Upside-down Plant Urodon dasyphylla Variable Daisy Waratah (Telopea) Wertabona Daisy White Cedar (Melia azedarach) White Indigo White Paper Daisy Wild Passionfruit Wild Stock Woolly-Headed Burr Daisy Woolly Bush Yellow-keeled Swainsona

Flora & FaunaFauna Flora Fauna Flora Funga Glossary Funga Related Topics Scientific Classification Backyard Wildlife Floral Emblems of Australia Wildflowers