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See also: the eucalyptus tree which was brought to CA in the 1800s and spread rapidly before everyone realized that young trees are useless for timber [0][1] H

See also: the eucalyptus tree which was brought to CA in the 1800s and spread rapidly before everyone realized that young trees are useless for timber [0][1] Here on the Central Coast, there are eucalyptus groves everywhere (some are massive). They are messy, a fire hazard, and useless for firewood. 0. http://www.independent.com/news/2011/jan/15/how-eucalyptus-came-california/ http://www.independent.com/news/2011/jan/15/how-eucalyptus-c... 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus#North_America https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus#North_America

hyperbovine 10y ago
Slowly they are being eradicated. People in the East Bay are going apeshit over FEMA's plans to knock down ~10,000 eucalyptus in order to restore native vegetation and prevent a(nother) disastrous fire in the Oakland hills. On the other hand they seem to be very popular in Napa and along the 101 as windbreaks. Maybe we'll never get rid of them.
- callmeed 10y ago
  Yeah, wind break is their only redeeming quality. One of my favorite golf courses here would be a lot less fun without them.
- hkmurakami 10y ago
  A bunch of Eucalyptus trees lining the streets along the hills bordering 280 have been removed over the last 5 years. I was sad at first from seeing these trees I grew up with go away, but then my friend educated me about the invasive nature of the trees, and now that a few years have passed since the first wave of removals in my neighborhood, I can say that I've become accustomed to the new sights.
- dredmorbius 10y ago
  "Widowmakers". The last thing you want next to a highway in a strong wind is a eucalyptus tree.
danieltillett 10y ago
As an Australian I find the CA eucalyptus very nostalgic. They are most certainly a fire hazard, but I am surprised to learn that they are considered useless for firewood. Here in Australia the best firewood is eucalyptus - it is a bastard to split though.
- callmeed 10y ago
  Yeah, it can work as firewood for heat if its thoroughly dried (1+ year). You have to split it before it dries. I guess I should clarify my previous post. Most people in CA don't burn wood for heat. I was specifically referring to burning wood for cooking (aka Santa Maria Style BBQ). For that, oak is superior and eucalyptus is a no-go.
  - danieltillett 10y ago
    Yes it does need to be dried to burn well. I have split by hand an awful lot of seasoned eucalyptus and it is hard work and takes real skill. It is even worse here in Australia as due to the native pests the wood contains a lot more knots. You get used to taking a good look at a log and deciding if that is worth splitting or not. You can cook with it, but you need to let the fire die down and cook on the coals only - that is unless you love the taste of cough drops. On the topic of building with it even young eucalyptus is OK if you let the timber season while strapped so it doesn’t twist and warp. The only problem is that it become like iron and is impossible to nail. When I was a kid we had a huge supply of seasoned eucalyptus that my brother and I used to build all sorts of things. We had to pre-drill all the nail holes before we could use it. If you did this it was a 100x better structural timber than pine.
  - caf 10y ago
    I have long experience as a teenager splitting yellowbox eucalyptus for firewood - it splits considerably better when seasoned.
    - danieltillett 10y ago
      Yes as long as it is not knotted. My favourite was logs that had the core eaten out by termites - now they were nice and easy to split :) Talking of arthropods did you ever have the fun of chainsawing through a bull ant nest while collecting seasoned logs? They are not happy and do they hurt when they bite.

hyperbovine 10y ago

Slowly they are being eradicated. People in the East Bay are going apeshit over FEMA's plans to knock down ~10,000 eucalyptus in order to restore native vegetation and prevent a(nother) disastrous fire in the Oakland hills. On the other hand they seem to be very popular in Napa and along the 101 as windbreaks. Maybe we'll never get rid of them.

callmeed 10y ago
Yeah, wind break is their only redeeming quality. One of my favorite golf courses here would be a lot less fun without them.
hkmurakami 10y ago
A bunch of Eucalyptus trees lining the streets along the hills bordering 280 have been removed over the last 5 years. I was sad at first from seeing these trees I grew up with go away, but then my friend educated me about the invasive nature of the trees, and now that a few years have passed since the first wave of removals in my neighborhood, I can say that I've become accustomed to the new sights.
dredmorbius 10y ago
"Widowmakers". The last thing you want next to a highway in a strong wind is a eucalyptus tree.

danieltillett 10y ago

As an Australian I find the CA eucalyptus very nostalgic. They are most certainly a fire hazard, but I am surprised to learn that they are considered useless for firewood. Here in Australia the best firewood is eucalyptus - it is a bastard to split though.

callmeed 10y ago
Yeah, it can work as firewood for heat if its thoroughly dried (1+ year). You have to split it before it dries. I guess I should clarify my previous post. Most people in CA don't burn wood for heat. I was specifically referring to burning wood for cooking (aka Santa Maria Style BBQ). For that, oak is superior and eucalyptus is a no-go.
- danieltillett 10y ago
  Yes it does need to be dried to burn well. I have split by hand an awful lot of seasoned eucalyptus and it is hard work and takes real skill. It is even worse here in Australia as due to the native pests the wood contains a lot more knots. You get used to taking a good look at a log and deciding if that is worth splitting or not. You can cook with it, but you need to let the fire die down and cook on the coals only - that is unless you love the taste of cough drops. On the topic of building with it even young eucalyptus is OK if you let the timber season while strapped so it doesn’t twist and warp. The only problem is that it become like iron and is impossible to nail. When I was a kid we had a huge supply of seasoned eucalyptus that my brother and I used to build all sorts of things. We had to pre-drill all the nail holes before we could use it. If you did this it was a 100x better structural timber than pine.
- caf 10y ago
  I have long experience as a teenager splitting yellowbox eucalyptus for firewood - it splits considerably better when seasoned.
  - danieltillett 10y ago
    Yes as long as it is not knotted. My favourite was logs that had the core eaten out by termites - now they were nice and easy to split :) Talking of arthropods did you ever have the fun of chainsawing through a bull ant nest while collecting seasoned logs? They are not happy and do they hurt when they bite.