It has rough, stringy bark, lance-shaped leaves and white flowers in groups of up to thirteen.

[3][4]The black-stemmed mallee was first formally described in 1867 by George Bentham who gave it the name Eucalyptus redunca var.

[5][6] In 1991, Ian Brooker and Stephen Hopper raised the variety to species status but since the name Eucalyptus melanophloia was already used, it was necessary to create a new specific epithet.

[4] Brooker and Hopper described two species that have been accepted by the Australian Plant Census:[4] Black-stemmed mallee is found in breakaways, slopes and gullies from coastal areas of the Mid West and extending south through the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.

It is common between Northampton in the north to Brookton where it grows in sandy-clay-loamy soils over granite or laterite.