eucalyptus

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eucalyptus

, eucalypt

any myrtaceous tree of the mostly Australian genus Eucalyptus, such as the blue gum and ironbark, widely cultivated for the medicinal oil in their leaves (eucalyptus oil), timber, and ornament

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

eucalyptus

Eucalyptus tress are some of the tallest in the world. They don’t like cold. The bark is usually peeling off in loose stringy or papery strips. Young leaves are often blue-grey on square stems. Mature leaves are shiny, very thin green ovals on round stems. Creamy white flowers, sometimes pink. Leaves can be made into tea or steam distilled to extract oil, which is a powerful antiseptic used to treat gum disease, burns, insect repellant. The essential oil, breathed in a steam, will help clear the nasal passages, as will the steam from boiling the leaves. A small drop on the tongue eases nausea. Oil-soaked cloths placed in cabinets and closets keeps roaches and insects away. Originally from Australia, this fast-growing invasive tree is taking over southern California.

Eucalyptus

[‚yü·kə′lip·təs]

(botany)

A large genus of evergreen trees belonging to the myrtle family (Myrtaceae) and occurring in Australia and New Guinea.

eucalyptus

Wood of the eucalyptus tree, native to Australia and Tasmania, but many species now are grown elsewhere in the world; the physical characteristics and properties vary considerably with the species. Also see gumwood.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Eucalyptus

a genus of plants of the family Myrtaceae. The genus consists mainly of evergreen trees frequently reaching a height of 100 m; there are some shrubs. The arrangement and shape of the leaves vary according to the age of the plant. The leaves are always entire, and they are usually fragrant owing to the presence of essential oil. The flowers are regular and bisexual. There are numerous stamens, and the ovary is inferior. The fruit is a capsule consisting of a truncated woody calyx tube to which the ovary is fused.

There are more than 525 species of eucalyptus; they are commonly found in Australia and Tasmania, as well as on neighboring islands. The USSR has more than 30 cultivated species, growing mainly on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. Almost all subtropical and tropical countries cultivate eucalypts, since the plants yield valuable wood and grow rapidly. Also of economic value are the leaves, which yield essential oil, and the bark, which yields tannins. Eucalyptus oil and eucalyptus teas or tinctures are used medicinally as antiseptic and anti-inflammatory rinses and inhaiants to treat infections of the upper respiratory tract; the medicines are also used to treat wounds and some gynecological disorders. A eucalyptus tincture may also be prescribed to treat inflammation of the mouth and, sometimes, as a sedative.

REFERENCES

Pilipenko, F. S. “Evkalipt—Eucalyptus L’Herit.” In Derev’ia i kustarniki SSSR, vol. 5. Moscow-Leningrad, 1960.
Maiden, J. H. A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus, vols. 1–8, parts 1–75. Sydney, 1903–33.
Blakely, W. F. A Key to the Eucalypts, 3rd ed. Canberra, 1965.
Pryor, L. D., and L. A. S. Johnson. A Classification of the Eucalypts. Canberra, 1971.
Johnson, L. A. S. “Presidential Address: Evolution and Classification in Eucalyptus.” Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 1972, vol. 97, part 1, no. 429.

M. E. KIRPICHNIKOV

References in periodicals archive ?

This result, taken to a practical situation of the use of eucalypts wood, indicates that depending on the durability required for a particular piece of solid wood designated to an outdoor environment, it is necessary to use longer harvesting cycles in order to achieve adult trees, i.e., individual trees that have a significant growth of mature wood in their trunks.

Flexural properties of four fast-growing eucalypts woods deteriorated by three different field tests/Propriedades em flexao da madeira de quatro eucaliptos de rapido crescimento deterioradas por meio de testes de campo

Cement-bonded wood particleboard with a mixture of eucalypt and rubberwood.

Discovery of the first Aximopsis (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) parasitoid of Lepidoptera in Brazil and notes on its biology

Nonetheless, in eucalypt rooted cuttings production at reduced substrate volumes and frequent irrigation, the N in the substrate components may not be sufficient because it is easily leached.

Growth of eucalyptus rooted cuttings in toxic organic waste compost of textile industry/Crescimento de mudas de eucalipto em composto organico de residuos toxicos da industria textil

O'Connell AM, Grove TS, Mendham DS, Ranee SJ (2003) Changes in soil N status and N supply rates in agricultural land afforested with eucalypts in south-western Australia.

Eucalyptus reforestation induces soil water repellency

These results, if transferable to the eucalypt species from Australian plantations, could provide an alternative method for markedly enhancing the durability of these species.

Potential for using through-boring to improve groundline treatment of Australian wood species: a preliminary study

delegatensis seedlings in soils from: (a) stands with healthy eucalypt that had been burnt 4 years previously, (b) secondary rainforest with dead and dying eucalypts, and (c) rainforest.

Premature decline of eucalyptus and altered ecosystem processes in the absence of fire in some Australian forests

Weed management becomes one of the major silvicultural problems of eucalypt forestry especially during the rain periods.

Leaf anatomy and morphometry in three eucalypt clones treated with glyphosate/Anatomia e morfometria foliar em clones de eucalipto tratados com glyphosate

Fertilisation of many Australian forest soils with phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), and in some cases other nutrients, is necessary to achieve high growth rates of eucalypt plantations.

Base cation availability and leaching after nitrogen fertilisation of a eucalypt plantation

The wind has turned and pulled the smoke back east to the sea, and the night air, coming languidly through my window, smells like penitence, like eucalypts and charcoal.

Nursery of fire

There are more than 500 kinds of "eucalypts" in Australia.

Best seat in the forest: fast-growing, tall eucalyptus trees are becoming popular transplants around the globe

By 1870 eucalypts could be found rimming the Mediterranean and shading the U.S.

Ansel Adams's eucalyptus tree, fort ross: nature, photography, and the search for California

Before the 1980s, global market pulp producers offered only two alternatives to traditional North American mixed hardwoods and softwoods: Scandinavian birch and Iberian eucalypts. Both were from naturally grown trees with widely varying harvest ages.

Single-species pulping: the world's preferred market pulps; 'outstanding attributes' are driving increased demand for single species pulps

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