Eucalyptus phenax

Eucalyptus phenax, the white mallee, is a small mallee-form tree of the family Myrtaceae endemic to semi-arid regions of southern Australia, particularly South Australia, western Victoria and southern parts of New South Wales and Western Australia. It typically grows as a multi-stemmed mallee 3 to 8 metres tall, occasionally to 10 metres, arising from a swollen woody lignotuber that allows regeneration after fire or drought. The smooth bark is grey to whitish, shed in ribbons to reveal pale greenish-cream new bark beneath. Adult leaves are alternate, narrow-lanceolate, dull greyish-green, with prominent oil glands. Flower buds are clustered seven to eleven per umbel on a flattened peduncle, the operculum conical to beaked, opening to reveal numerous creamy-white stamens. Fruits are cup-shaped to hemispherical woody capsules a few millimetres across, with the valves enclosed within the rim.