I wrote:

Of course we don't
have many gum trees (Eucalyptus) here either except the ones we
originally started from those in the land of Aus.

Patriarch wrote:

Actually, they were brought in over 100 years ago, with the thought that
the fast growing wood could be used for railroad ties.

First it was planted in the gold mining regions by Australian miners.
They thought it could compensate for California's lack of hardwood
trees. The several varieties of blue gums were the cheapest to produce
in the nurseries. When the Central Pacific Railroad got into the act in
1877, they bought these blue gum seedlings and the story continues from
there. They never developed into the high grade lumber trees of the
virgin forests of Australia.

The ones I am more familiar with are the ones around Oakland and the Bay
Area that were brought in more recently in the early 1900's after
droughts killed many other ornamental trees.

There were also some in Alabama and Mississippi that were brought in
many years ago for medicinal purposes. I have seed pods from some of
them.
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