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Eucalypts

>Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 12:35:10 GMT
>Sender: owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
>From: dpsgkp@mail.telepac.pt (Graham Payne)
>To: medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
>Subject: Re: Eucalypts
>   <snip>
> Your description of E. erythocorys sounds so good that I am going to try
> growing it. Here in the Algarve in Portugal Eucalyptus grow well and I =
> have
> several species in my garden.  Unfortunately the local Portuguese farmers
> are tearing up the wild hills that are covered in Cistus and many wild
> flowers to plant E. globulus as a timber tree.
>
> Chiltern Seeds can be contacted by e-mail: 101344.1340@compuserve.com
> ----  Graham Payne  ----  dpsgkp@mail.telepac.pt  ----

Graham -

The Fall 1995 issue of Pacific Horticulture, includes an article
entitled 'Blue Gum Fever', where Harriet Heyman discusses the
history of Eucalyptus here in California.  These trees were plnated
en masse during a 'timber boom' around the turn of the century.
Everyone who owned land thought they would make millions off the
trees, but after a significant amount of the state was planted with
these trees, these poor folks found that the wood was not as
valuable as proclaimed.  It was very hard, cured poorly (warping so
much it 'walked off the lot'!!), even considered poor fuel.  While
most people now consider Euclayptus trees as a 'natural' part of the
California landscape, they still are occasionally considered nasty
invaders.  They where one of the main scapegoats of the East Bay
Firestorm of several years ago, which destroyed many acres of
valuable residential property.

There are many species of Eucalyptus which are well worth planting,
making handsome and useful urban trees (I researching E.
erythrocorys and the others mentioned in this thread! ;-).  But the
indescriminant planting of the larger, timber types in open land
seems very fool hardy to me, ultimately leading to the problems we
have here in California.  Perhaps Portugal can take a lesson from
our mistakes!

 Sean A. O'Hara                     sean.ohara@ucop.edu
 710 Jean Street                    (510) 987-0577
 Oakland, California 94610-1459     h o r t u l u s   a p t u s
 U.S.A.                             'a garden suited to its purpose'
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