A tree or mallee from Western Australia's west coast, typically 2 to 15 m tall with a weeping habit and a lignotuber. It is grown rarely; the key is full sun, sandy well-drained soil, and little water once established.
Family
Myrtaceae (Myrtle family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun
Water
Water regularly while young, then rely on rainfall; drought tolerant once established.
Soil
Sandy, free-draining soil.
Temperature
Frost and drought tolerant; cold limit not specified in sources.
How easy
Easy
Native range
W. Western Australia
Climate
subtropical
About
Eucalyptus todtiana, commonly known as coastal blackbutt pricklybark or dwutta, is a species of tree or a mallee that is endemic to the west coast of Western Australia. It has rough, fibrous and flaky bark on the trunk, smooth bark on the branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, white flowers and cup-shaped to hemispherical fruit.
How to grow it
Eucalyptus todtiana is not often grown in cultivation. It grows rapidly as a sapling if planted in an open position, but as an adult it grows slowly and flowers profusely. It is both frost and drought tolerant.
Where it grows
Coastal blackbutt grows in scrub and in open woodland on sandy flats and gentle slopes on the coastal plain between Perth and Dongara in the Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographic regions.
Uses
Indigenous Australians used parts of the tree for medicinal purposes. The leaves as a nasal decongestant or as an antibacterial poultice by crushing the leaves. Leaves were also eaten to relieve dysentery. The gum was also used on sores as an ointment. Leaves from the tree were also commonly used for bedding.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Eucalyptus todtiana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.