I know Eucalyptus trees are frowned on here, primarily for the fire risk. Many wildfires on the Iberian Peninsula have been fuelled by these dry trees which have over centuries replaced Spain’s numerous oak forests. Around here there are no plantations of Eucalyptus trees. They are farmed for their oil which can be used as an antiseptic or disinfectant, pulpwood to make pulp, wood to make musical instruments, beekeepers site their hives around the trees for eucalyptus honey, while parts of the tree can be used to make dyes. They are often used as a windbreak, which probably explains this dozen or so trees which stand in a row along a farm track.
I admit to being captivated by the peeling bark, the colours, the curling shapes created. All mature trees put on a new layer of bark each year, and the appearance of the bark varies with the age of the tree.
Nearly all Eucalyptus species are evergreen.
5 to remember
un eucalipto – a Eucalyptus tree
un riesgo – a risk
un fuego – a wildfire
el antiséptico – the antiseptic
el desinfectante – the disinfectant
And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
Papery, peely, plain odd-looking eucalyptus trees #Spain #Nature http://bit.ly/2wsXyYw via @Spanish_Valley
I love them too – that amazing smell they have, particularly after we have had some rain 🙂
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We moved into a eucalyptus woods 30 years ago. The trees, planted for reasons explained by myths, were young and slender then. (So was I.) They grew thick and dangerous, not only because they are fire prone, but because they fall over without warning. Right from the relatively small root ball, they fall straight down, crushing everything in their paths. We’ve cut down most of the trees on our property and will cut all of them eventually. We’ll replace with trees and plants indigenous to Southern California and leave the eucalyptus to Australia. Lovely and interesting, but far too dangerous in residential communities.
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That’s fascinating, thanks Shari. Thankfully they are not near us. These trees are beside an isolated country road, with a farm in the distance. I guess the farmer may have planted them as a windbreak. SD
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