Eucalyptus haemastoma

Commonly known as scribbly gum, this species is a small to medium-sized eucalypt within the family Myrtaceae, typically reaching 10–20 metres in height. It is recognisable by its smooth white to grey bark marked with distinctive dark, meandering scribbles—tunnels left by the larvae of scribbly gum moths feeding beneath the bark surface. The species produces the lance-shaped adult leaves, small white flowers, and woody gumnut capsules characteristic of the genus.

As with other eucalypts, it provides nectar and foliage resources for a range of native insects, birds, and mammals, and contributes to the structure of the sclerophyll woodlands it inhabits.

Eucalyptus haemastoma is endemic to Australia, occurring primarily in coastal and near-coastal areas of New South Wales, particularly around the Sydney Basin. It typically grows on sandstone-derived soils that are shallow and low in nutrients, forming part of open woodland and heathland-woodland communities.

The principal threat to this species is habitat loss driven by ongoing housing and urban development, which fragments and removes stands growing on sandstone substrates near expanding metropolitan areas. This pressure is particularly acute given the species' concentration near Sydney, one of Australia's largest and fastest-growing urban centres.

Conservation of this species is linked to broader protections for sandstone woodland vegetation, including reservation of remnant bushland within national parks and conservation areas around Sydney, along with local planning controls restricting clearing in some council areas.

Population trends are currently decreasing, and continued urban expansion is likely to sustain this trajectory unless habitat protections are strengthened or more effectively enforced.