Eucalyptus rummeryi, commonly known as steel box, Rummery's box[1] or brown box,[2] is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to northern New South Wales. It has rough bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven on the ends of branchlets, white flowers and conical, hemispherical or cup-shaped fruit.
Eucalyptus rummeryi is a tree that typically grows to a height of and forms a lignotuber. It has rough, fibrous or flaky, grey to black bark on the trunk and branches. Young plants and coppice regrowth have stems that are square in cross-section and leaves that are dull green, paler on the lower side, egg-shaped to lance-shaped, long and wide and petiolate. Adult leaves are glossy green, paler on the lower surface, lance-shaped to curved, long and wide tapering to a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets in groups of three or seven on a branched peduncle long the individual buds on pedicels long. Mature buds are oval to spindle-shaped, long and wide with a conical operculum. Flowering occurs from November to December and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody conical, hemispherical or cup-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level.[3]
Eucalyptus rummeryi was first formally described in 1923 by Joseph Maiden in his book A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus from material collected from Busby's Flat, near Casino by Edward George Rummery (1877–1958), (named as George Edward Rummery by Maiden) in 1921.[4] [5] [6] The specific epithet (rummeryi) honours the collector of the type.
Steel box grows on slopes and ridges in wet or grassy forest from Dorrigo to north-west of Casino.