{"id":175,"date":"2023-07-03T14:52:05","date_gmt":"2023-07-03T14:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/?p=175"},"modified":"2023-07-03T14:52:06","modified_gmt":"2023-07-03T14:52:06","slug":"the-eucalyptus-tree-epictactical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/?p=175","title":{"rendered":"The Eucalyptus Tree: \u2013 EpicTactical"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

THE EUCALYPTUS TREE: <\/b><\/p>\n

AUSTRALIA\u2019S MOST DOMINANT TREE HAS NOW NATURALIZED
IN PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES<\/b><\/p>\n

Christopher Nyerges<\/p>\n

Nyerges is the author of \u201cHow to Survive Anywhere,\u201d and an outdoor instructor.\u00a0 For more information, contact him at <\/i>www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com<\/a> or at Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041<\/i><\/p>\n

The Eucalypti are the most dominant tree of the Australian landscape, with approximately 550 species known as ironwoods, gumwoods, and mallees.\u00a0 They are also one of the most common introduced trees in Southern California and Arizona.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Eucalyptus leaves<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

They were originally brought into Southern California about 150 years ago, in the belief that this quick-growing tree would be a good timber tree for railroads and other building applications.\u00a0 This proved not to be the case, as the twisting grain of eucalyptus made it unsuitable for most building projects.\u00a0 Nevertheless, this beautiful, fragrant, and largely pest-resistant tree caught on as a garden, park, and street tree in California, Arizona, and throughout the southern U.S. all the way to Florida where the climate is moderate.<\/p>\n

Eucalyptus is generally thought of as a medicinal tree rather than a food-source, though there are a few foods available from the plant.\u00a0 Perhaps the most interesting is a common bug that is seen on the leaves, appearing as small white bumps.\u00a0 This is actually a psyllid, a small scale-like creature that Aboriginal children in Australia would scrape off the leaves with their teeth to get a good sugar source.<\/p>\n

At my field trips, we have participants pick off the leaves and chew the white sweet bugs.\u00a0 A few people refuse to do so, but this is really one of the most pleasant ways to \u201ceat bugs.\u201d\u00a0 You can also put a psyllid-infested eucalyptus leaf into a cup of hot water, and end up with sweetened eucalyptus tea.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A view of the psyllids, or lerps, that are often found on eucalyptus leaves. Aboriginal people ate these because they are sweet.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In fact, a tea from the leaves of any eucalyptus species (with or without the psyllids) can be infused and used as a pleasant beverage.<\/p>\n

The roots of several Eucalyptus species were dried, powdered, and used as food in Australia.\u00a0 The best are said to be E. caesia, E. dumosa, and E. gracilis.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The finely powdered seeds of one mallee, E. microtheca, have been reportedly used for food.<\/p>\n

In Australia, the eucalyptus provides nectar and pollen to bees, who in turn provide honey and beeswax.\u00a0 Beehives that I\u2019ve kept near a Eucalyptus grove in my Los Angeles back yard have produced a honey as dark as molasses and extremely fragrant.\u00a0 I use this honey as a medicine as much as a sweetener, and find that if I have a cold or sore throat, I feel much better after using this honey in my drinks.<\/p>\n

The young fruits can be sucked for sore throats.\u00a0 According to Alma R. Hutchens, author of Indian Herbology of North America<\/u>, \u201cAmong the diseases in which it is employed are croup, diphtheria, bronchitis, asthma, piles, neuralgia, malarial diseases, catarrh, in subacute or chronic inflammation of the urinary organs, ulcers and sores.\u00a0 It has proven an effective remedy in some cases of rheumatism.\u00a0 For some, the mode of using it in asthma is to smoke the dried leaves.\u201d\u00a0 (I\u2019ve never tried this last use).<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The tea of eucalyptus leaves, well known for its efficacy in dealing with sinus congestion, also has sufficient antiseptic properties that it can be used to clean wounds.\u00a0 In fact, though there are many species of eucalyptus with many distinct uses throughout Australia, the two primary uses for eucalyptus are the tea from the leaves for all breathing-related problems, and a tea from the bark used to wash and disinfect wounds.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I have boiled eucalyptus leaves on many occasions and inhaled the steam to help with sinus congestion.\u00a0 I usually drink a little of the strong broth as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Army Veteran Mark Tsunokai tries some lerps<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Eucalyptus oil (obtained from the leaves by distillation) is rich in the therapeutic agent cineole.\u00a0 Cineole is used as an active ingredient in inhalants, gargles, lozenges, etc., because it has a pleasant odor and is efficient in killing bacteria.\u00a0 Rutin, used medicinally for diabetes and high blood pressure, occurs in the leaves of some eucalyptus. You have consumed this anytime you\u2019ve had eucalyptus cough drops (by whatever name).<\/p>\n

We have taken the caps off some of the smaller capsules, and used the powdered insides (which consisted mostly of stamens) as a first aid remedy for cuts.\u00a0 In all cases, this resulted in rapid healing and very little scarring.\u00a0 We suggest that the smaller, unopened capsules be included in first aid kits.<\/p>\n

The variously scented eucalyptus leaves (peppermint, lemon, medicinal, etc.) tend to repel insects.\u00a0 A necklace of young fruits is used as a safe flea repellent for cats and dogs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A view of eucalyptus leaves.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Whole books have been written on the many uses of this valuable plant.\u00a0 We\u2019ve only scratched the surface here.\u00a0 One good book for further information is Bush Food: Aboriginal Food and Herbal Medicine by Jennifer Isaacs Lansdowne Publishing Pty. Ltd., Sydney, 1987).<\/p>\n

It is also more difficult to garden or farm under the areas where eucalypti are growing.\u00a0 Your garden plants will produce smaller fruit or tubers, and the plants will require more fertilizer.\u00a0 This is the result of the dispersion of the various eucalyptus oils into the soil.<\/p>\n

Native to Australia, there are about 90 varieties which have naturalized in California and Arizona, and beyond those areas.<\/p>\n

SOURCE OF LEAVES FOR TEA:\u00a0 Urban farmer Julie Balaa of WTI Farms sells packages of the dried eucalyptus leaves which can be used for tea. It comes with instructions.\u00a0 One package is $10, from WTI, 5835 Burwood Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90042.<\/b><\/p>\n

Or email Balaa at juliebalaa@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE EUCALYPTUS TREE: AUSTRALIA\u2019S MOST DOMINANT TREE HAS NOW NATURALIZEDIN PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES Christopher Nyerges Nyerges is the author of \u201cHow to Survive Anywhere,\u201d and an outdoor instructor.\u00a0 For more information, contact him at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com or at Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041 The Eucalypti are the most dominant tree of the Australian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-175","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-survival"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=175"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions\/177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}