Family: MYRTACEAE
Eucalypts should be grown in association with acacias and other nitrogen - fixing trees. As eucalypts generally have highly invasive root systems that can rob adjacent land of water and nutrients, they should have a buffer of nitrogen - fixing trees between them and crop land or pasture.
Most eucalypts coppice readily. They are planted extensively as a firewood crop, but in many parts of the world their invasive root systems have led to serious nutrient loss in the soil. In some instances farmers have walked off the farms that have supported their families for many generations.
Eucalyptus oil is usually extracted from leaves of trees managed by coppice.
Thinning can be used for fence posts, construction poles and some species can be sold for pulp. Using these chip species to encourage timber species to form long, straight trunks is a means of supplementing farm income before the timber species mature.
As the world supplies of hardwood diminish, eucalypts promise a worthy investment for the future.
Many species of eucalypts are also significant nectar producers to incorporate in a bee forage system.