Economic Importance of Eucalyptus spp.

• E. alba
• E. citriodora
• E. paniculata
• E. resinifera
• Family:  Myrtaceae
• Origin:  Australia

Description:  Tall evergreen tree with smooth and greyish bark, bark exfoliates in plates or strips. Leaves alternate, narrowly lanceolate, pale coloured, thin, petiolate with conspicuous venation.

Economic Importance:

In the Nilgiris, timber is used for temporary construction, as it splits very badly. It can be used for electric transmission poles after putting iron bends at the top and bottom of the posts. It gives a good fuel wood having calorific value of 4962 kcal/kg. The charcoal maybe used for producer gas plants, in pigments, fireworks, gun-powder, rubber-production, animal feeds, and some other chemical industries.

The wood yields a brownish pulp useful in manufacture of wrapping paper and card-board. White pulp of good quality can be obtained from the wood by sulphite and soda process. Mixed with spruce and other long fibred pulp, blue-gum pulp may be used for producing high grade pulp. High alpha cellulose pulp can be prepared by sulphite process which in turn is prepared into viscose rayon, an important synthetic fibre.

The oil is useful in many pharmaceutical preparations, flavouring of cough lozenges, mouth gargles, tooth-pastes, perfumes, repellents against mosquitoes, vermins, germicides etc.