Tree to 20 m tall; bark rough to large branches, fibrous. Juvenile leaves sessile, opposite for many pairs, rarely connate, ovate, to 15 cm long, 7 cm wide, glaucous; adult leaves petiolate, alternate, broadly lanceolate to lanceolate, 7–15 cm long, 1.5–3 cm wide, concolorous, slightly glossy, green to olive-green; reticulation sparse, with numerous island oil glands. Inflorescences axillary, unbranched; peduncles to 1.3 cm long, 11–many-flowered; buds pedicellate, clavate, to 0.6 cm long, 0.4 cm diam., no scar (single operculum); operculum hemispherical or conical; stamens mostly inflexed; anthers dorsifixed, reniform; ovules in 2 vertical rows; flowers white. Fruit shortly pedicellate, cupular to obconical, to 0.7 cm long, 0.7 cm diam.; disc level; valves 3 or 4, rim level; seed brown or dark brown, glossy, smooth, pyramidal but distorted by one curved face, hilum terminal. Flowers Oct.–Jan.
VVP, VRiv, GipP, OtP, Gold, CVU, DunT, NIS, EGL, EGU, HSF, HNF, Strz, MonT, HFE, VAlp. Also NSW, ACT. Widespread, usually in dryish sites on poor, shallow soils, from foothills to subalps.
A highly variable species with many local forms. However, Eucalyptus dives is generally recognizable in the field by the broad, glaucous, ovate, sessile juvenile leaves.
Presumed hybrids with E. radiata have been included in E. ×radiodives.
