3tt HOUGH'S AMERICAN WOODS. 



blue-green. The leaves on the upper branches, and constituting the bulk of the 

 foliage of large trees, are alternate, petiolate, linear-lanceolate and more or less 

 falcate, wedge-shaped at base, 6-12 in. long and f-2 in. broad, not glaucous, of 

 a yellow-green color, pendent and vertically disposed on the branchlet by a twist 

 in the petiole. Flowers large, generally solitary in the axils of the leaves, with 

 thick flattened peduncle about as long as broad; young operculum conical, the 

 length of the four-sided cupule. Fruit a top-shaped capsule about an inch long 

 and broad, glaucous and with four longitudinal ridges outside (hence somewhat 

 four-sided) nearly flat above but depressed and mucronate in the middle, dehiscent 

 at maturity by a slit near the center on top. at the summit of each of the four or 

 five cells, a"nd through these are liberated the black angular irregular fertile seeds, 

 about one line in diameter, and a considerably larger number of brown compressed 

 linear sterile seeds. 



The specific name is the Latin, globulus, given to this species on account of its 

 " button-shaped " capsules. 



This very interesting tree in the forests of its native land attains the 

 great height of 400 ft. (120 m.), with straight columnar trunks 14-16 

 ft. (5 m.) in diameter. In California it has not yet had time to attain 

 such dimensions, but the climatic conditions seem perfectly adapted to 

 it, and it may attain such dimensions here in time. Such is its marvel- 

 ous rapidity of growth that trees in San Jose, CaL, for example, 

 known to be only ten years old, have been found to be eighteen inches 

 in diameter of trunk and in the vicinity of 80 or 90 ft. high.* The 

 young trees, until 10 or 15 ft. in height, present " a finished type of 

 elegance," exclusively with rich glaucous foliage, its bluish cast being 

 a very conspicuous feature. As the tree grows older the narrow 

 sickle-shaped yellowish-green leaves appear at the summit, and in time 

 these constitute the bulk of the foliage. Its two kinds of leaves give 

 it a very singular appearance. The tree develops a tall, narrow and 

 generally irregular head, sometimes almost spire-shaped, and, owing 

 to the vertically arranged upper leaves, which present a minimum 

 amount of surface to the sun's rays, casts but little shade. The bark 

 of the trunk is of a mottled grayish-brown color, smooth and thin, 

 owing to the annual exfoliation of the outer layers which fall off in 

 long strips and irregular plates, leaving a yellowish-brown inner bark, 

 which gradually darkens on exposure to the light. 



HABITAT. The native home of the Blue Gum is southern Aus- 

 tralia and Tasmania, whence it has been extensively introduced into 

 the warmer parts of Europe, Asia and America. In California it is 

 very extensively planted and thrives wonderfully throughout the state 

 generally, where the temperature does not fall much below the frost 

 mark, and it has become naturalized in places. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. The wood is quite heavy, hard, strong, 

 with many fine open ducts, with both annular rings and medullary 



* Forest Culture and Eucalyptus Trees. By Elwood Cooper, p. 20. 



