Eucalyptus tetraptera, Square-fruited mallee,also Four-winged mallee is a low, straggly mallee

Mallee (habit)

Mallee is the growth habit of certain eucalypt species that grow with multiple stems springing from an underground lignotuber, usually to a height of no more than ten metres...

 with smooth, grey or whitish-grey bark. Juvenile

Juvenile (organism)

A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. Juveniles sometimes look very different from the adult form, particularly in terms of their colour...

 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

Sessility (botany)

In botany, sessility is a characteristic of plants whose flowers or leaves are borne directly from the stem or peduncle, and thus lack a petiole or pedicel...

, oblong and winged along corners to 5 x 4.2 cm.

The distribution is limited to coastal sandplains of southern Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, from the Stirling Ranges east to Israelite Bay.

E. tetraptera is one of the most bizarre of the eucalypts with its spectacular, large, red buds and fruit. A popular ornamental.