Burdett gum  |  

Eucalyptus burdettiana, Family Myrtaceae, also known as Burdett Gum and BurdettÕs Mallee,
is a multi-stemmed mallee or shrub to 4 m high with smooth dark grey over dark orange bark.
Adult leaves are glossy green to blue-green, 6Ð9 cm long and 1Ð1.7 cm wide, with a dense
fine vein network and numerous small oil glands. Buds are 4Ð5 cm long and 0.7Ð1 cm wide.
Stamens are erect inside the bud. Valves in the fruit are often united at the tip. Seeds are
black, irregular or ovoid, sometimes flattish or flanged. There are usually sessile clusters of 7Ð
11 flowers on a flattened peduncle (stalk of an inflorescence), unfused hypanthia and very
long horn-shaped opercula. Flowers are cream to yellow and the flowering period is
intermittent throughout the year, often in January to March and July and August (DEC, 2008).
Burdett Gum can be distinguished from the closely related Beaufort Inlet Mallee (Eucalyptus
newbeyi) as it has slightly warty, horn-shaped bud caps, whereas those of the related mallee
are smooth. It can also be distinguished from Warted Yate (Eucalyptus megacornuta) which
has grossly warted bud caps and fruit that are more bell shaped (Robinson & Coates, 1995;
Brown et al., 1998; DEC, 2008).