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Eucalyptus steedmanii (Steedman's Gum) - Spreading shrub or small tree to 20 to 35 feet tall with a dense crown of narrow elliptic dark green leaves and a smooth gray-brown trunk that peels off in ribbons in the late summer to expose red-brown new bark. In summer appear the 1-inch-long flowers in small clusters that are usually a pale yellow but can be pink or red.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil - unlike some Western Australian plants this plant tolerates alkaline conditions. Requires little to no irrigation once established and is relatively frost hardy. Responds well to hard pruning and can be used as a large screen plant.
Eucalyptus steedmanii is a rare species comes from an isolated population in Western Australia. The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'eu' meaning "well" and 'kalypto' meaning 'to cover' as with a lid and an allusion to the united calyx-lobes and petals that is called an operculum that forms a lid or cap that is shed when the flowers open. It was first described in 1933 by the English-born Western Australian botanist Charles Gardner in the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia from a specimen collected by Henry Steedman in 1928 and the specific epithet honors the collector. It is also sometimes called Steedman's mallet.
There is a beautiful older specimen
A large specimen can be found in Orpet Park (previously called Hillside Park) on the Santa Barbara Riviera and it was this beautiful plant that encouraged us to grow this species from 2008 until 2013.
The information displayed on this page about Eucalyptus steedmanii is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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