Tree Identification

probably eucalyptus

GaryG in MD

The famous "gum" trees of Oz are also in CA.

http://jimbullard.zenfolio.com/p35051708/h37EFF7D#h37eff7d

Re: probably eucalyptus

Don Tewell

Thanks. We don't have those in Central Illinois.

OK, I vote for sycamore

GaryG in MD

I believe some of them can be "scaly" over their entirety, and they're very common in areas near water.

Or the related London Planetree:

http://extension.illinois.edu/hortanswers/plantdetail.cfm?PlantID=247&PlantTypeID=7

...GG

Re: OK, I vote for sycamore

Don Tewell

We have sycamore in Illinois and those trees do not look at all like sycamore. The shape of the tree and the fact that the coloring of the trunk at the base is different. I think that it is eucalyptus. For one reason the commentators keep referring to them as gum.

gum

John K Jordan

>>>I think that it is eucalyptus. For one reason the commentators keep referring to them as gum.

From Wikipedia:

Eucalyptus is one of three similar genera that are commonly referred to as "eucalypts", the others being Corymbia and Angophora. Many species, though by no means all, are known as gum trees because they exude copious kino from any break in the bark (e.g., scribbly gum).

From eucalyptusoil.com

The exudation from the bark which looks like a 'gum' is actually a tannin-like substance known as 'kino'. Governor Arthur Philip is credited with being the first to call the eucalypt a 'gum tree' in 1788. Since then most Australians have called eucalypts 'gum trees'.

Several sources point to Eucalyptus globulus as the common species in California. This species was evidently widely planted in CA a few hundred years ago and it took over. The Wood Database indicates Eucalyptus globulus has the common names of Blue Gum, Tasmanian Blue Gum

http://www.wood-database.com/blue-gum/

JKJ

that's where I came in!

Pretty sure they are eucalyptus / blue gum *LINK*

Jim Barbour

I saw them first from a long way off and I thought they were Sycamore as well. Then I got close and could see the leaves and smell them - wrong leaf for sycamore and smells like a bottle of Vicks. They are an invasive species. Here is an interesting piece on them.


http://www.independent.com/news/2011/jan/15/how-eucalyptus-came-california/

Re: Pretty sure they are eucalyptus / blue gum

Bob Macgregor

Well, at least there was SOME hope of economic return when the eucalyptos was introduced. Not so with tamarisk, which has been spreading through, and degrading, southwestern US riparian habitats for decades.

Re: gum

Robert Lalonde

We live in Northern California (Eureka) and there are eucalyptus trees everywhere, including my yard. Locals also call them "gum trees. They are basically a "weed" in California now. As I understand it, they were imported from New Zealand in the 19th century as a potential source of lumber. As it turned out, the wild and twisted grain made them useless for lumber and then, they went crazy and took over the state.

I turned a few bowls from a fallen tree a few years ago but threw them out because of warping as they dried. Today, I wouldn't do that having learned from David E. and others the beauty of turning green wood to it's final shape.