It has smooth grey bark, often with insect "scribbles", linear to narrow lance-shaped adult leaves, flowers buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers and urn-shaped, barrel-shaped or more or less spherical fruit.

Eucalyptus cunninghamii is a mallee that typically grows to a height of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and forms a lignotuber.

It has smooth grey bark, often with insect scribbles, that is shed in ribbons.

[2][3][4][5] Cliff mallee ash was first formally described in 1825 by Allan Cunningham who gave it the name Eucalyptus microphylla and published the description in Barron Field's book, Geographical Memoirs on New South Wales.

The name was a nomen illegitimum because it had already been used by Willdenow for a different species,[6][7] but in 1830 Robert Sweet changed the name to E. cunninghamii in honour of Cunningham.