Dear HCN,
I was amused by the
vehemence of Ted Williams’ essay, “The Eucalyptus: Sacred or
profane?” (HCN, 2/18/02: The Eucalyptus: Sacred or profane?) as a
native Californian living on the other coast.
My
moldering 1968 copy of Munz’s A California Flora and
Supplement lists four species of eucalyptus as native. At
the time the updated flora was published, there was some debate as
to how long a plant had to be around to be considered native and
what the criteria was for being a native plant (e.g., establishing
itself outside of cultivation or being reported by a reputable
botanist as natural).
Eucalyptus is indeed
allelopathic, loving only its own gene pool, being toxic to other
plants as Williams notes. When I left home 20 years ago, I recall
eucalyptus was regularly included in mixed cords of firewood as the
species was nicely aromatic when in flame. Evidently times have
changed.
James R.
Bernard
Harpswell,
Maine
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Eucalyptus smells nice, anyway.
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