Eucalyptus polyanthemos ssp. vestita

Red Box

Dense to spreading, small to medium rough-barked tree, trunk often crooked.

FamilyMyrtaceae
StoreyUpper storey
Size7-25 m x 5-15 m
Plant groupingTrees 5 m +
LeavesRoundish blue-green juvenile leaves retained as adult foliage, 4-5 cm x 3.5-5 cm
Flower colourCream
Flowering timeSeptember to January
FlowersProfuse 7-flowered bunches of flowers at the ends of branches. Buds bluish and diamond-shaped; fruit barrel-shaped.
Bird attractingGeneral - food and habitat
Butterfly attractingBoth food for caterpillars and nectar for butterflies.
Frog habitatNo
Growing conditionsPoor stony soils and dry ridges and slopes. Well drained situations. Full sun, semi shade. Frost hardy.
Garden useOrnamental smaller eucalypt for dry areas. Screen, honey production. Foliage is used with cut flowers. Bird habitat.
Commercially availableAustralian plant & indigenous nurseries
Conservation statusSignificant within the Shire. Known from very few local sites. More common outside the Shire boundary.
Aboriginal Use Eucalypts provided food, medicines, containers, string and tools.