Eucalyptus globulus Labill
Fam. Myrtaceae
Br. Gommier blue, Eucalyptus
Ing. Blue gum, Australian fever tree
Ted. Fieber baum, Blauer gummi baum
Spag. Eucalyptus
The genus Eucalyptus includes about 500 species
Description
Evergreen tree that grows rapidly up to 20 m in 6-7 years. In Australia, its land of origin, it can even reach 150 m in height with a base diameter of 10 m. The trunk has smooth, ash-gray bark, dotted with glands, which comes off in thin and elongated plaques. The wood is reddish.
Leaves: there is a considerable heterophyl; the young leaves are opposite and welded together at the base, oval and heart-shaped, the color is bluish green, almost cerulean; the adult leaves are alternate and petiolate, 20 cm long lanceolate and arched like the blade of a sickle, the base is asymmetrical, the apex is sharp. These are hard and leathery, of a bluish green color with an accentuated central vein, dotted with schizolysine secretory pockets.
Flowers: the flower buds are shaped like a woody urn, wrinkled and covered with wax. The cup (4 sepals) is enlarged to form a cup with 4 ribs, which in the bud is closed by a small lid, consisting of the 4 welded petals, that to the bloom it falls letting to see numerous stamens.
Fruit: the fruit is a capsule, of the same shape as the glass, which opens at the top in the upper part by means of fissures. The seeds are numerous and very small.
The whole plant has an aromatic smell and a bitter taste.
Areal
Eucalyptus is native to Australia and Tasmania, generally growing in temperate zones. In Italy it is widespread in the center and in the south and, in particular, in Elba.
Culture
It requires loose, deep, well-drained, neutral or slightly acid soil. Exposure: sunny. Regular watering; if grown in pots in the apartment, the eucalyptus should not be in too heated rooms. It propagates by seeds, after having matured for 1 year in a dry room. It is sown in February (13-15 ° C) and the seedlings are transplanted, with their earthen bread, when they are large enough to be used. Young plants need a guardian for the first few years. In cold regions it is good to protect the basal part of the stem with straw or rags. Fertilizations: they are performed in spring-summer every 30 days with complex fertilizers.
Adversity: the leaves, struck by the ache of lead, take on a silvery color and fall. Mushrooms cause neck pain in young plants; other parasites cause deformation and fall of the young leaves, feeding on the sap of the young shoots.
Drug
It is represented by the leaves, harvested in June-July or in September-October: they come off one by one and the stem is eliminated. They dry in the shade and in an aired place, avoiding the sun. They are kept in glass containers protected from light. Active ingredients: essential oil, flavonoids
uses
In herbal medicine and in herbal medicine, eucalyptus is used to resolve inflammation of the respiratory, urogenital and intestinal tract. It has expectorant, balsamic and slightly sudorific and febrifugal properties. It is indicated in bronchial and asthma and is one of the most effective plants against respiratory diseases. Eucalyptus possesses secretolytic and secretomotor activity; to it (as to the thymus) is some recognized some antiseptic properties. Eucalyptus is contraindicated in severe hepatopathies and in inflammatory bowel diseases; in rare cases it can cause nausea and diarrhea.
Wood charcoal is used in case of accidental poisoning, spoiled food and cures diarrhea and colitis.
External use exerts a good antiseptic and healing action.
Eucalyptus also appears to be effective in the treatment of diabetes and in problems of halitosis, sores and burns.
In cosmetics it is used as a deodorant and purifier for impure skins, to prepare toothpastes and soap.
Eucalyptus foliage is used for flower arrangements, which lasts a long time.
