Eucalyptus kruseana is a straggly mallee with smooth coppery to dark grey bark that is shed in ribbons, but rough and fibrous near the base.

Juvenile leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, sessile, heart-shaped to more or less round, 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) long and wide, and the same dull grey colour on both sides.

[2][4][5][6] Eucalyptus kruseana was first formally described by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1895 in the Australasian Journal of Pharmacy.

[9] The specific epithet honours John Kruse, a German born pharmacist, who worked in Melbourne.

Sold as an ornamental for small or large gardens,[11] it is used for privacy screening, for shade, for hedging or as a feature.