Southern Red Ironbark

Eucalyptus tricarpa is a tree that typically grows to a height of 35 m (115 ft) and forms a lignotuber. It has thick rough, reddish brown to black ironbark on the trunk and branches. Young plants and coppice regrowth have green to greyish, elliptical to lance-shaped leaves that are 40–110 mm (1.6–4.3 in) long and 13–30 mm (0.51–1.18 in) wide and petiolate. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, the same shade of green to greyish green on both sides, lance-shaped to curved, 80–220 mm (3.1–8.7 in) long and 10–26 mm (0.39–1.02 in) wide, tapering to a petiole 10–30 mm (0.39–1.18 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of three, sometimes seven, on an unbranched peduncle 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) long, the individual buds on pedicels 5–18 mm (0.20–0.71 in) long. Mature buds are oval, 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long and 6–9 mm (0.24–0.35 in) wide with a conical to beaked operculum. Flowering occurs from February to November and the flowers are white or pale pink. The fruit is a woody cylindrical to shortened spherical capsule 8–13 mm (0.31–0.51 in) long and 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) wide with the valves enclosed below the rim.

Eucalyptus tricarpa grows in forest and woodland in coastal south from Araluen in New South Wales and is common in the goldfields near Bendigo, near Anglesea and in coastal and near-coastal areas of Gippsland. Subspecies decora occurs in open woodland around St Arnaud in Victoria.