It has smooth bark and a crown composed entirely of circular to heart-shaped juvenile leaves arranged in opposite pairs and attached directly to the stems with no stalks.

As of December 2022[update], Plants of the World Online listed the formerly accepted Eucalyptus rhodantha var.

As with all species of mallee the lignotuber is a swollen root crown that contains stores of starch as well as many dormant epicormic buds, allowing the plant to regenerate with new stems being produced from the lignotuber if the above ground portion of the plant is lost to drought, fire or physical forces.

[8]: 68 The leaf bearing portion of the plant, the crown, is composed entirely of juvenile leaves that are sessile, lacking a stalk and attached directly to the stem.

[5] The large flowers can be up to 7.5 cm (3.0 in) in diameter and pink to bright red, or occasionally yellow[9]: 8  and rarely creamy-white.

The woody fruits are shaped like spinning tops and contain winged grey-brown[5] to dark brown[7]: 1  to black seeds.

E. rhodantha is related to and resembles Eucalyptus macrocarpa but is a more compact plant with shorter leaves and smaller hanging buds and fruits.

[14] Further specimens were collected by Keith Maxwell Allan from 15.8 km (9.8 mi) southwest of Three Springs and are stored at herbariums in Perth and Melbourne.

Others were collected by George Chippendale from 13.4 km (8.3 mi) south of Gunyidi siding, and are stored in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.

[5] Eucalyptus rhodantha is native to Western Australia[12] and is found in the Avon Wheatbelt and Geraldton Sandplains bioregions.

[7]: 1  Several reports have identified the range extending south to Bolgart and New Norcia; these appear to be hybrid progeny of E. macrocarpa and E. pyriformis.

All the specimens of E. rhodantha collected are from the Watheroo and Three Springs locations with the exception of one plant recorded from Eneabba Creek in 1953.

In the vicinity of Watheroo two moderately undisturbed populations of E. rhodantha are situated on private land that remains uncleared.

[9]: 1 Eucalyptus rhodantha grows in flat or slightly hilly country, on sandy or gravelly soils[6] as a part of shrubby heathland communities on yellow sandplains.

[1] Other Eucalyptus species found in the same area as E. rhodantha include York gum (E. loxophleba), malallie (E. eudesmioides) and blackbutt (E. todtiana).

[9]: 4  The larger honeyeaters are especially well-suited to pollination as they are able to collect the nectar and pollen easily and deposit it on the stigma efficiency.

Protandry is achieved by the plant shedding the bulk of the pollen from the anthers within a week following the flower opening and then the stigma becoming receptive at around twelve days.

Selection pressures throughout the species' life cycle appear to favour heterozygosity, which has a significantly higher incidence in mature plants than in seeds or seedlings.

It is thought that the higher survival rate is due to selection operating over the entirety of the life cycle and the heterozygous offspring survive more often in all periods of the cycle[9]: 4 Rose mallee has been listed as vulnerable since 2017[update] according to the Parliament of Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)[21] and a recovery plan has been prepared.

[9]: i  The Western Australian Government lists the species as Threatened under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016,[22]: 4767  meaning that it is in danger of extinction.

[23]: 1  The fragmented distribution of E. rhodantha within agricultural regions is a key factor that jeopardises the species' long-term survival in the wild.

No natural increase in numbers of plants, totalling fewer than 1000 mature individuals, has been observed since the populations have been monitored.

Soil-borne problems, including salinity and root-rot fungus (Phytophthora cinnamomi), may become an increasing threat in the future.

[25]: 1  It is categorised as Priority Four by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,[24] meaning that it is rare or near threatened.

[23][25]: 1 [26] E. rhodantha was listed as Endangered (EN) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as of 2019[update].