The Mottlecah - Eucalyptus macrocarpa

The Mottlecah - Eucalyptus macrocarpa - is a mallee eucalypt and one of my favourite Western Australian native plants. There are over 900 species of eucalypts in Australia, which have adapted to nearly every kind of environment. I am always excited if we come across a Mottlecah on our travels through the Western Australian wheatbelt. 

Please note: Since I wrote this post I have done some more investigation as there are several types of Macrocarpa. You might also like to read my more recent post - August 2020 - Is it Eucalyptus macrocarpa or a rose mallee

I believe this variety here is the Small leaved mottlecah - Eucalyptus Macrocarpa subsp elachantha

The name Mottlecah is the Aboriginal name given to the species.

August 2020 - I believe the flower bottom left is a relative of the Macrocarpa - Eucaluptus rhodantha - rose mallee

The Mottlecah is easily identified in the bush. It is a straggly sprawling bush/tree which grows to between 1-5 metres tall with thick, flat, silvery-grey leaves 5-8cm long and 3-6cm wide. 

The red flowers are 5-8cm across, with a silvery cap before flowering which occurs in early spring to summer and from late autumn to early winter. The colour comes from the stamens alone, as the flower does not have "petals".  
Below here you can see the flower starting to push off its cap.

The flowers are followed by large bowl-shaped "gumnuts" which give rise to the Greek-derived specific name macrocarpa – "makros" (large) and "karpos" (fruit). 
You can see the various stages in the image below.  

August 2020 - Can you see the difference in the leaves of these two images below - I believe the top image to be the small-leaves mottlecah, and the one below the larger leaved eucalyptus macrocarpa.

  Found in the wheatbelt of Western Australia, we saw them at Western Flora and also in the Corrigin region of the central wheatbelt. North of Enneabba, Western Flora is a great place to stay for a few days if you are interested in wildflowers as they have several wildflower walks you can explore.  

If you are visiting Perth and don't have time to travel afar, then you can see the Mottlecah in Kings Park Botanic Garden right in the centre of Perth.  

Western Australia boasts up to 12,000 known species and the Western Australian wildflower season spreads over several months starting from July in the north’s Kimberley region till November in the south.

For more information on the Mottlecah:

Flora Base - Euc Macrocarpa
Euclid - Eucalpts of Australia
Wikipedia-macrocarpa 

You might also like:
Once in 40 year wildflower extravaganza 
Hunting for wild orchids in Western Australia's midwest 
Photographing wildflowers 

Do you have a favourite wildflower? Perhaps you would like to tell us about it in your comments. 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity.
Travel Photo Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit
Little Things Thursday
Friday Bliss at Floral Passions

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.