Two kinds on one tree: round, silvery young leaves 3 to 6 cm in stalkless pairs, and longer, stalked, dull grey adult ones.
Introduced, naturalised · Up to 35 m
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus gunnii · Myrtaceae
Eucalyptus is an evergreen tree with two kinds of leaf: round, silvery ones in pairs, and longer, stalked dull grey ones. Its smooth bark peels in patches of cream, pink and grey.
Often mistaken for London plane. How to tell them apart →Know it by
LeavesRound, silvery young ones 3 to 6 cm, and longer dull grey ones.
BarkOrangey grey or pink, fresh patches cream or pale green.
FlowersThe caps lift off to show white tufts in July and August.
LeavesRound, silvery young ones 3 to 6 cm, and longer dull grey ones.BarkOrangey grey or pink, fresh patches cream or pale green.FlowersThe caps lift off to show white tufts in July and August.Then check · CapsulesHard and woody, up to 1 cm long, bell-shaped and usually with a silver bloom, opening by small flaps at the top.
How to identify a eucalyptus
Smooth, shedding in big flakes. The bark is orangey grey or salmon pink, with fresh patches cream or pale green.
Small capped buds, three to a short stalk, all year. In July and August the caps lift off to show white tufts.
Learn the eucalyptus in TreelyEvery part through the year, and a short round each day until you know it.Get Treely
Every part, in photographs
Татьяна Максимова, CC BY 4.0rmjb, CC BY 4.0
Clive Freedman, CC BY 4.0Jon Sullivan, CC BY 4.0When to look
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In leaf
Flowers
Capsules
In leaf: all year · Flowers: July to August · Capsules: all year
Where you’ll find it
Mostly planted, in gardens, parks and public planting, and rarely in plantations. It is commonest in the warmer areas, where it often seeds itself. Wild ones grow in woods and on roadsides in south-east England. It needs full light.
What it’s mistaken for
- White willowBoth are big trees with long, narrow, greyish leaves. Leaf. Eucalyptus: the same dull grey on both faces. White willow: white with silky hairs beneath.
In the app
There’s more of the eucalyptus in Treely
- Every part, through the yearLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed in every season
- Its lookalikes, side by sideThe checks that settle it, part by part
- A short round each dayUntil you know the eucalyptus on sight, from any side
- Name it from a photoA leaf, the bark or a flower, and Treely tells you which tree
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Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.
Photographs: Татьяна Максимова (CC BY 4.0), Jon Sullivan (CC BY 4.0), rmjb (CC BY 4.0), Clive Freedman (CC BY 4.0), oliverc29 (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.