Yeah 21 degrees is pretty... brisk 

ah so you don't harvest any Eucalyptus?     great shots of the tree dwellers

Caught a third one! 

I developed an interest in trees when I worked as a luthier (sorta) in my first job out of college.  Starting making boxes, tables, etc. at home and consequently started learning about different trees.  Now that I live in NYC, I get sick of ubiquitous concrete, glass, and steel and try to find any green I can.  I then began to wonder what kind of trees I'm looking at so started to read up.  I keep a sketchbook, where I draw trees and take notes and interesting facts (e.g. Gingko trees were the only living thing to survive the bomb at Hiroshimo!  Even bloomed the next spring (as a result, Gingkos are a symbol of hope in japan)).

Anyway, here's my eucalyptus page for the hell of it.  I may add a sketch based on one of your images, Ung! 



Interesting that you have Eucalyptus floorboards.  My reading indicated that Eucalyptus were brought to California in the 19th C for construction lumber, given the speed at which they grow.  Problem was the wood twisted as it dried and hardened so much it was damn near impossible to drive a nail through it.  In the end, they were almost useless to builders and became an invasive tree that took over certain parts of the state.  Maybe it was the specific species that was not lumber friendly??

Nice drawing 1.21GW  

I enjoyed reading your notation along with the drawing too.  Looks like you have one of the many smooth barked Eucalypts there.  Within genus Eucalyptus, there's a myriad of species and great variation amongst 'em.  

Very different bark....

Iron Bark - Eucalyptus sideroxylon..


Messmate aka Tassie Oak - Eucalyptus obliqua..


Sydney Blue Gum - Eucalyptus saligna (we have a couple of these growing just because they're such beautiful trees)..


Southern Blue Gum - Eucalyptus globulus (native to this region and to Tasmania. We have lots of these growing... because that's what ought naturally be found here. The earlier Koala picture is Koala up one of these)..


Very different leaves...

Cabbage Gum - Eucalyptus platyphylla...


Narrow-Leaved Black Peppermint - Eucalyptus nicholii..


Not just our floorboards are Eucalypt, all of the framing is too.  In our case its Eucalyptus obliqua, pretty common construction timber..

http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/forestry/using-wood-and-its-benefits/wood-properties-of-timber-trees/tasmanian-oak

Decking on our verandahs is Messmate too. Our post-and-board fence is built with Messmate board onto treated pine posts.  Gotta pre-drill the board before you can nail it to the softwood posts.  New Aussie hardwood framing isnt so hard to nail into... but ours has been around for 30+ years...  

I do know that if you leave new 6" x 1" Messmate boards out in the sun.... they twist and curl up like buggery in no time  

Interesting to me that Eucalypts imported into California were quickly abandoned as construction timber.  Yup, maybe poor variety choice, I dunno.  Maybe there are just better local timbers for the purpose...  I imagine Eucalypts would love it in California.. and grow berserk.  They devour ground water.

Quote from: cokey on February 17, 2014, 08:52:18 AM
ah so you don't harvest any Eucalyptus?  

Nope.  If we harvested the foliage for Eucalyptus oil there'd be no tucker for the tree dwellers.  Varieties we're growing aren't the best oil yielding anyway.

Great thread!  Great drawing and notes!  What an education   I hope to see your forest one day Ung. 

Ok, so I became more curious and read up more on the history of eucalypti in California.  It seems the reason that it didn't make it as a lumber wood was, although fast-growing, the trees need real time (75-100 yrs, according to one article) to age and harden, else they twist and crack when dried.  Also, it appears the Tasmanian Blue Gum variety (eucalyptus globulus) was the main species imported.

Short history:
http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/history/la-as-subject/who-eucalyptized-southern-california.html

Interesting longer history:
http://www.academia.edu/322875/Gone_Native_Californias_Love-Hate_Relationship_with_Eucalyptus_Trees

Both good reads, but the second shows the speculative, entrepreneurial, and scientific/medicinal drive (often wrong) behind it all.  Shows how trees can be politicized in some ways.

Actually reminds me of a lecture I heard from a historian and agriculturalist about the history of palm trees in southern California.  Very interesting, and had a lot to do with race and class.  Poor trees.  All they want is a little sun & water...

ah ok..   know off hand which type is good for oils?

  Planting trees ..That's a really wonderful thing to do Ung.

Quote from: cokey on February 18, 2014, 11:43:19 AM
ah ok..   know off hand which type is good for oils?

Not something I ever thought much about.

Sheila S. Mude thought about it though....  http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5336e/x5336e0n.htm

Quote from: 1.21GW on February 18, 2014, 07:42:58 AM
Short history:
http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/history/la-as-subject/who-eucalyptized-southern-california.html

Interesting longer history:
http://www.academia.edu/322875/Gone_Native_Californias_Love-Hate_Relationship_with_Eucalyptus_Trees

Thanks for posting those links.  Very interesting reading  .

For me the Eucalypt just is.  It belongs.  It's belonging is accepted - good with bad.  Its part of the family.  So I've never considered how it would be viewed within another environment.  I'm generally against the propagation of foreign flora (and fauna too for that matter)... yet I found it strange to be aligning myself in nodding agreement with those Californians less enthusiastic about my otherwise beloved E.globulus.   History has shown that importing plants and creatures from another world frequently ends in tears. 

I could go on about the friggin' rabbit.  Or the fox....  cane toads....  European bumble bees...  Blackberry bramble 


"Two men demonstrate the girth of a 25-year-old eucalyptus tree on the L. J. Rose ranch in Rosemead, circa 1900"

My first reaction to the pic above was: "Bullshit.  That tree has gotta be way older than 25 years"...

But then there's this - from your 2nd article - to take into consideration:
"In the lowland regions of California, the Australian genus benefited from ecological similarities and dissimilarities â€" a familiar two-season, fire-prone Mediterranean climate without all of the insects, birds, mammals, and diseases that fed on eucalypts DownUnder. As a result, the trees grew unusually fast".

What I really don't get is why the Eucalypt in California failed as a lumber source when we use it with success extensively...  Even though E.globulus wouldn't be the first variety you'd choose... (seems like it was chosen for its rapid growth above all else).. its not unworkable... although you can see from the link below that there are caveats...  http://www.woodsolutions.com.au/Wood-Species/southern-blue-gum

Quote from: 1.21GW on February 18, 2014, 07:42:58 AMIt seems the reason that it didn't make it as a lumber wood was, although fast-growing, the trees need real time (75-100 yrs, according to one article) to age and harden, else they twist and crack when dried. 

I'm not convinced.  Incorrect processing is my suspicion combined with inappropriate species selection.... 

"To make matters worse, the wood did not prove to be as enduring as advertised. Railroad ties cracked; poles rotted in the ground."  Wrong species!! 

Red Gum - E.camaldulensis - has been used as railway sleepers ("railroad ties" to you) since the first tracks were laid in Australia.  Houses were built on foundation poles or "stumps" of Red Gum which endured in the ground without rotting for decades... and decades.  Concrete has replaced Red Gum for these duties in more recent times however.  http://www.woodsolutions.com.au/Wood-Species/Red-Gum

Both of those articles discuss the failure of the Eucalypt.  But E.globulus is not the Eucalypt.  Its just one of em.  The fast one. 

Maybe investors were just too eager for a return (as if that would ever happen  ).

It could be that the faster growth rate affected the structure of the wood which made it less durable here...

Quote from: ungeheuer on February 19, 2014, 04:21:06 AM
My first reaction to the pic above was: "Bullshit.  That tree has gotta be way older than 25 years"...

But then there's this... /snip

...and this pic.  Do they grow like this down under?  I mean, it shot up so fast that it looks like a palm tree!

Mills, my alma mater, is lined with them.

The pic above shows the way most of the Eucalyptus are planted here in California.

Planted shoulder to shoulder, primarily as windbreaks in farming areas (it seems).

I recall folks saying the root systems are not very sturdy, or at least when they get that tall planted so closely.
I saw where 50 or more Eucs toppled over in a windstorm, but it was 60mph plus winds, after a solid week of heavy rain, and very sandy soil.... Not a very fair test.

Quote from: 1.21GW on February 19, 2014, 07:44:24 AM
...and this pic.  Do they grow like this down under?  I mean, it shot up so fast that it looks like a palm tree!

Yeah, that one looked pretty unusual too.  Never seen anything so tall yet so skinny here.  

Quote from: Speeddog on February 19, 2014, 09:51:49 AM
The pic above shows the way most of the Eucalyptus are planted here in California.

Planted shoulder to shoulder, primarily as windbreaks in farming areas (it seems).

I recall folks saying the root systems are not very sturdy, or at least when they get that tall planted so closely.
I saw where 50 or more Eucs toppled over in a windstorm, but it was 60mph plus winds, after a solid week of heavy rain, and very sandy soil.... Not a very fair test.

Loose, sandy soil.  High wind.  Soaked ground.  Yup, they'll fall over in those conditions.  

Quote from: WarrenJ on February 19, 2014, 06:25:05 AM
It could be that the faster growth rate affected the structure of the wood which made it less durable here...

Could be.....