Eucalyptus frenchiana is a species of mallet that is endemic to Western Australia. It has smooth bark, narrow lance-shaped, glossy green adult leaves, ribbed flower buds in groups of three, white flowers and ribbed, conical to cup-shaped fruit.
Eucalyptus frenchiana is a mallet that typically grows to a height of but does not form a lignotuber. It has smooth light grey over cream bark that is shed in ribbons. Young plants and coppice regrowth have slightly glossy light green leaves that are a paler colour on one side, egg-shaped and petiolate. Adult leaves are narrow lance-shaped, the same glossy green on both sides, long and wide and petiolate. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of three on a peduncle long, the individual buds on pedicels long. Mature buds are long and wide, the hypanthium cup-shaped and the operculum hemispherical with prominent longitudinal ribs. The flowers are white and the fruit is a woody, conical to cup-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves near to rim level.[1] [2]
Eucalyptus frenchiana was first formally described in 2009 by Dean Nicolle from a specimen he collected with Malcolm French west of Coolgardie, and the description was published in the journal Nuytsia.[3] The specific epithet (frenchiana) honours French for his assistance in the preparation of the Nuytsia paper.
This mallet grows in mallet-mallee woodland near Lake Johnston in the Coolgardie biogeographic region.
Eucalyptus frenchiana is classified as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.[4]