Eucalyptus petraea, commonly known as granite rock box, is a species of mallee or a small tree that is endemic to Western Australia. It has thin, ribbony or flaky to fibrous bark on the lower trunk, smooth greyish above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of seven, creamy white flowers and conical fruit.
Eucalyptus petraea is a mallee or small tree that typically grows to a height of and forms a lignotuber. It has thin, ribbony to flaky or fibrous bark on the lowest of the trunk, smooth greyish bark above. Young plants and coppice regrowth have lance-shaped leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of glossy green on both sides, lance-shaped, long and wide, tapering to a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets in groups of seven on a branched peduncle long, the individual buds on pedicels long. Mature buds are oval, long and wide with a blunt, conical operculum. Flowering occurs from January to February and from August to September and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody, conical capsule long and wide with the valves below rim level.[1] [2] [3]
Eucalyptus petraea was first formally described in 1983 by Denis and Stella Carr in the journal Nuytsia from material they collected near Gnarlbine Rock in 1980.[4] The specific epithet (petraea) is from the Latin word petraueus meaning "growing among rocks".[5]
Granite rock box grows in isolated locations near granite boulders between Coorow, Merredin and Karonie, east of Kalgoorlie.