42 Facts About Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae.

Plants in the genus Eucalyptus have bark that is either smooth, fibrous, hard or stringy, leaves with oil glands, and sepals and petals that are fused to form a "cap" or operculum over the stamens.

Eucalyptus trees, including mallets and marlocks, are single-stemmed and include Eucalyptus regnans, the tallest known flowering plant on Earth.

Leaves on a mature Eucalyptus plant are commonly lanceolate, petiolate, apparently alternate and waxy or glossy green.

Genus Eucalyptus was first formally described in 1789 by Charles Louis L'Heritier de Brutelle who published the description in his book Sertum Anglicum, seu, Plantae rariores quae in hortis juxta Londinum along with a description of the type species, Eucalyptus obliqua.

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Eucalyptus collected the specimen on Bruny Island and sent it to de Brutelle who was working in London at that time.

Eucalyptus coined the generic name from the Greek roots eu and calyptos, meaning "well" and "covered" in reference to the operculum of the flower bud which protects the developing flower parts as the flower develops and is shed by the pressure of the emerging stamens at flowering.

Renantherin, a phenolic compound present in the leaves of some Eucalyptus species, allows chemotaxonomic discrimination in the sections renantheroideae and renantherae and the ratio of the amount of leucoanthocyanins varies considerably in certain species.

Eucalyptus is one of three similar genera that are commonly referred to as "eucalypts", the others being Corymbia and Angophora.

Species of Eucalyptus are cultivated widely in the tropical and temperate world, including the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East, China, and the Indian subcontinent.

Oldest definitive Eucalyptus fossils are from South America, where eucalypts are no longer native, though they have been introduced from Australia.

The oldest reliably dated macrofossil of Eucalyptus is a 21-million-year-old tree-stump encased in basalt in the upper Lachlan Valley in New South Wales.

In more recent sediments, numerous findings of a dramatic increase in the abundance of Eucalyptus pollen are associated with increased charcoal levels.

An essential oil extracted from Eucalyptus leaves contains compounds that are powerful natural disinfectants and can be toxic in large quantities.

Eucalyptus flowers produce a great abundance of nectar, providing food for many pollinators including insects, birds, bats and possums.

Trunks and branches of the Eucalyptus tree allow the largest known moth, Zelotypia stacyi to feed and protect their larva and pupa, respectively.

Eucalyptus oil is highly flammable; ignited trees have been known to explode.

In contrast, a Eucalyptus forest tends to promote fire because of the volatile and highly combustible oils produced by the leaves, as well as the production of large amounts of litter high in phenolics, preventing its breakdown by fungi and thus accumulating as large amounts of dry, combustible fuel.

Eucalyptus are the basis for several industries, such as sawmilling, pulp, charcoal and others.

Some Eucalyptus species have attracted attention from horticulturists, global development researchers, and environmentalists because of desirable traits such as being fast-growing sources of wood, producing oil that can be used for cleaning and as a natural insecticide, or an ability to be used to drain swamps and thereby reduce the risk of malaria.

Eucalyptus oil finds many uses like in fuels, fragrances, insect repellence and antimicrobial activity.

Eucalyptus trees show allelopathic effects; they release compounds which inhibit other plant species from growing nearby.

Eucalyptus is the most common short fibre source for pulpwood to make pulp.

The fibre length of Eucalyptus is relatively short and uniform with low coarseness compared with other hardwoods commonly used as pulpwood.

Eucalyptus is suitable for many tissue papers as the short and slender fibres gives a high number of fibres per gram and low coarseness contributes to softness.

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Eucalyptus oil is readily steam distilled from the leaves and can be used for cleaning and as an industrial solvent, as an antiseptic, for deodorising, and in very small quantities in food supplements, especially sweets, cough drops, toothpaste and decongestants.

Eucalyptus globulus is the principal source of Eucalyptus oil worldwide.

Eucalyptus groves seen in the region today were planted where there was previously no forest cover.

Today, Eucalyptus is the most widely planted type of tree in plantations around the world, in South America, South Africa, Australia, India, Galicia, Portugal and many more.

Eucalyptus has historically been planted to replace California's coast live oak population, and the new Eucalyptus is not as hospitable to native flora and fauna as the oaks.

Eucalyptus trees were a catalyst for the spread of the 1923 fire in Berkeley, which destroyed 568 homes.

Efforts to remove some of California's Eucalyptus trees have been met with a mixed reaction from the public, and there have been protests against removal.

Eucalyptus can produce up to 100 cubic metres per hectare per year.

Much of Madagascar's original native forest has been replaced with Eucalyptus, threatening biodiversity by isolating remaining natural areas such as Andasibe-Mantadia National Park.

The following Eucalyptus species have been able to become naturalised in South Africa: E camaldulensis, E cladocalyx, E diversicolor, E grandis and E lehmannii.

Eucalyptus has been grown in Ireland since trials in the 1930s and now grows wild in South Western Ireland in the mild climate.

The use of Eucalyptus trees to drain swampy land was a common practice in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Eucalyptus trees are now considered an invasive species in the region.

Eucalyptus trees were introduced to Sri Lanka in the late 19th century by tea and coffee planters, for wind protection, shade and fuel.

Forestry replanting of Eucalyptus began in the 1930s in deforested mountain areas, and currently there are about 10 species present in the island.

In Hawaii, some 90 species of Eucalyptus have been introduced to the islands, where they have displaced some native species due to their higher maximum height, fast growth and lower water needs.

Eucalyptus sideroxylon, showing fruit and buds with operculum present.