Eucalyptus kruseana bookleaf mallee

Our sole Eucalyptus kruseana, on Campus Drive at Bonair Siding. A national champion, it is well protected during construction. Sairus Patel, 7 May 2018

Yellow flowers, opposite leaves, and fruit capsules of Eucalyptus kruseana. Sairus Patel, 7 May 2018

A small tree and popular ornamental in much of Australia, with more planted examples than are found in its native range of the central goldfields of southern Western Australia. It grows to a height of about 12 feet and cheerfully regenerates if cut back to the base. Pairs of rounded juvenile blue-gray leaves reminiscent of the pages of an opened book cover the branches, hence the common name. This is one of the few eucalypts, like E. pulverulenta and E. crenulata, that retain their juvenile foliage indefinitely. Buds form in groups of 7 and open into green-tinged yellow flowers.

If all this weren’t enough, it is long-lived, frost resistant, survives with only 10 inches of rain, and is not particular about soil. Our only specimen, on Campus Drive at Bonair Siding, is a national champion for size at 16 feet high, a trunk circumference of 6 inches, and a crown spread of 23 feet (as of 2013). It is carefully protected by barriers when there is construction in the area. Walkers and joggers blithely pass beneath its boughs, not realizing its significance. Bookleaf mallee has been used in Australia as a small street tree and can even, with patience, be trained along a trellis. Its seeds germinate readily; more should be propagated and planted.

Eucalyptus kruseana voucher. Courtesy of Prof. Matt Ritter and Robert F. Hoover Herbarium, Cal Poly State University

Related material: Eucalyptus checklist.