[blindwoodworker] Eucalyptus origin
- From: "JDM" <sunnyday001@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <blindwoodworker@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:33:07 +1100
G'day again John,
Yes, the Eucalypts of California are originally from Australia. Members of
the Eucalyptus genus dominate the tree flora of Australia. There are more
than 700 species of Eucalyptus, mostly native to Australia, and a very small
number are found in adjacent parts of New Guinea and Indonesia and one as
far north as the Philippines islands. Only 15 species occur outside
Australia, and only 9 do not occur in Australia.
Species of Eucalyptus from Australia are
cultivated throughout the tropics and subtropics including the Americas,
England, Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East, China and the
Indian Subcontinent.
Eucalyptus is one of three similar genera that are commonly referred to as
"eucalypts," the others being Corymbia and Angophora. Many, but far from
all, are known as gum trees because many species exude copious sap from any
break in the bark (e.g. Scribbly Gum).
Eucalyptus has attracted attention from global development researchers and
environmentalists. It is a fast-growing source of hardwood, its oil can be
used
for cleaning and functions as a natural insecticide and anti-septic, and it
is sometimes
used to drain swamps and thereby reduce the risk of malaria.
On warm days vaporised Eucalyptus oil rises above the bushland tree tops to
create the
characteristic distant blue haze of the Australian landscape. Eucalyptus oil
is highly flammable (trees have been known to explode and bush fires
can travel easily through the oil-rich air of the tree crowns. The dead bark
and fallen branches are also flammable. Eucalypts are well adapted for
periodic fires via lignotubers and epicormic buds under the bark.
The severity of wild fires in both Victoria Australia and California USA is
largely attributable to the explosive flammability of the oils in Eucalypt
foliage.
Hope this has been of interest,
John
Melbourne Australia.
----- Original Message -----
From: John Sherrer
To: blindwoodworker@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 10:37 AM
Subject: [blindwoodworker] Re: 54Eucalyptus?
Thank you John. I did not have any idea that Eucalyptus had so much
variety. My wife and I uwse essential oils, and four Eucalyptus essentials
are available. I thought that there were four different kinds of Eucalyptus
.
I have read several articles that talked about California has Eucalyptus
trees, I wonder if they are native or were brought from Australia?
John
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