Malleefowl nest
Image: Jon Augier
Source: Museum Victoria
Small multi-stemmed eucalypts or Mallees.
Image: Rodney Start
Source: Museum Victoria
Mallee vegetation is adapted to low rainfall and sandy soils.
Image: Frank Coffa
Source: Museum Victoria
Sunlight and a big sky...
Softly rolling plains, once under an ancient inland sea
Multi-stemmed eucalypts, wildflowers, parrots and lizards
Mallee Fowl parents hatch their chicks
The Victorian Mallee in the north-western corner of the state has a mosaic of vegetation types adapted to low rainfall and sandy soils. Most characteristic are the small multi-stemmed eucalypts or mallees that are able to survive fire by re-sprouting from large underground lignotubers. These mallee roots made the land hard for European settlers to clear for agriculture. Nevertheless, 70 per cent of the area is cleared of native vegetation making habitat loss is the single most important factor affecting wildlife. Large areas of mallee are now included in national parks.