An iconic tree of the Box Ironbark forests and a valued street tree across the Mount Alexander Shire. The white trunk, dense canopy and appealing blossoms make for a handsome urban tree.
The large blossoms of this eucalypt make it a prized source of nectar for nectar feeding birds and mammals. When flowering, the canopy becomes a noisy ground for feuding honeyeaters and lorikeets during the day. Cockatoos sometimes prune the flowers, leaving a halo of flowers on the ground under the canopy. At night, the vulnerable Grey-headed Flying Fox will visit and squabble over this prized resource, often flying long distances every evening to reach a productive tree.
Yellow Gums are likely to be resilient to future climate in the region (increased temperatures and decreased rainfall) and is a good choice for a native shade tree to provide urban cooling. The subspecies local to Mount Alexander Shire is Eucalyptus leucoxylon supsp. pruinosa. Dwarf forms have been bred by plant breeders, such as “Euky Dwarf,” which has a maximum height of ~7m and can be purchased for the smaller garden.