About Eucalyptus gillii Maiden
Eucalyptus gillii Maiden, commonly known as curly mallee, is a species of mallee that usually grows to 6 metres (20 feet) tall, and rarely reaches 8 metres (26 feet) as a tree form. It forms a lignotuber. Its bark is typically smooth and ranges from white to grey, though some individuals have rough, flaky bark on the trunk and lower branches. Young plants, coppice regrowth, and often the crown of mature trees bear sessile, greyish blue to glaucous leaves that are egg-shaped to heart-shaped. These leaves measure 20–57 mm (0.79–2.24 in) long and 20–53 mm (0.79–2.09 in) wide. Mature crown leaves are arranged in opposite pairs or alternately along stems. They are lance-shaped to egg-shaped or heart-shaped, dull green to glaucous, 30–80 mm (1.2–3.1 in) long and 12–35 mm (0.47–1.38 in) wide. These leaves are either sessile or attached to a petiole up to 7 mm (0.28 in) long. Flower buds grow in groups of seven, nine, or eleven in leaf axils, attached to a 4–15 mm (0.16–0.59 in) long peduncle, with individual buds borne on 2–7 mm (0.079–0.276 in) long pedicels. Mature buds are pear-shaped or oval, 8–14 mm (0.31–0.55 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide, with a conical to horn-shaped operculum. Flowering occurs mainly from July to November, and the flowers are pale yellow. The fruit is a woody, glaucous, barrel-shaped or shortened spherical capsule 4–9 mm (0.16–0.35 in) long and 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) wide. Curly mallee occurs mainly in the northern Flinders Ranges, particularly between Arkaroola and Nepabunna, and is also found in the Barrier Ranges north of Broken Hill in New South Wales. It grows in open mallee vegetation in gullies and on undulating hills, and sometimes grows in pure stands.
