This variable large tree has a short fibrous trunk with a lignotuber and low spreading smooth branches that form a compact rounded crown. It has blue-grey leathery oval leaves and the white flowers appear in a cluster from spring to early summer.

Hardiness zones 8 to 9

Eucalyptus polyanthemos is naturally found in Australia from New South Wales to Victoria growing in the foothills and the low-land rangers from the Grampians to East Gippsland and extending to the Great Dividing Range. It appears on gentle slopes in woodlands or dry forests from an altitude of 100 m (328 ft) to 800 m (2,624 ft). 

It prefers an open sunny position and it grows in medium to heavy stony or gravelly clays or sandy loams that are moderately fertile, moist or dry and tending acidic with a pH range from 6.5 to 7.5. It is a frost and drought tolerant but sensitive to saline or waterlogged soils.

Red Box is grown for its attractive habit, flowers and its timber. It is planted in parks and large gardens as a specimen tree for shade or used as a windbreak along borders. It is also planted along farmland corridors for shelter or to attract native birds or bees, and in urban areas it is used as a street tree. 

It is suitable coastal and low-mountain regions and establishes in 4-6 years and is long lived. The fine textured red heartwood is a strong, termite resistant and durable. It is used for fence posts, heavy construction, furniture production and is a high-quality fuelwood. The foliage is cut and used in floral arrangements and the tree response vigorously to pruning. ID 3690

Eucalyptus (ew-ka-LIP-tus) polyanthemos  (pol-ly-AN-them-os)

Note:
The bark is very variable and sheds from the trunks and branches in short strips revealing a greyish or cream coloured surface. Commonly the trunk retains the brownish or greyish rough sub-fibrous bark which in some cases is persistent on the branches.

Myrtaceae (mir-TAY-see-ee)
Myrtle, Eucalyptus, Clove and Guava Family