Red River Gum, Murray Red Gum, River Red Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus camaldulensis

Family: Myrtaceae

What it is like

Bloom Color: White, Yellow. Main Bloom Time: Early summer, Late summer, Mid summer. Form: Irregular or sprawling, Oval.

Eucalyptus camaldulensis is an evergreen Tree growing to 30 m (98ft) by 20 m (65ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 9. It is in leaf all year. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry moist or wet soil and can tolerate drought.

Height (m): 30

Where it is found

Sandy to heavy soils, usually along the banks of streams.

Australia - in all mainland states.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia, Africa, Algeria, Asia, Australia*, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Caucasus, Central Africa, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, East Africa, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guyana, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mediterranean, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, North Africa, North America, Oman, Panama, Portugal, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Spain, Sudan, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, USA, Venezuela, West Africa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 1

Seed. No further details are given but the seed is very small, not much bigger than a speck of dust.

Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Gum: can be chewed as a chewing gum or can often be used as a sweetener or thickening agent in foods.

Medicine

Rating: 3

Eucalyptus leaves are a traditional Aboriginal herbal remedy. The essential oil found in the leaves is a powerful antiseptic and is used all over the world for relieving coughs and colds, sore throats and other infections. The essential oil is a common ingredient in many over-the-counter cold remedies. The plant is an aromatic, astringent, tonic herb that sticks to the teeth and turns the saliva red. The report says that the leaves, essential oil and oleo-resin are used, but does not specify which properties apply to the different parts of the plant. The leaves and the oil will have very similar properties, the oil being much stronger in its effect since it is distilled from the leaves. Detailed below is how the oleo-resin and oil are commonly used in other species. The essential oil obtained from various species of eucalyptus is a very powerful antiseptic, especially when it is old, because ozone is formed in it on exposure to air. It has a decided disinfectant action, destroying the lower forms of life. The oil can be used externally, applied to cuts, skin infections etc, it can also be inhaled for treating blocked nasal passages, it can be gargled for sore throat and can also be taken internally for a wide range of complaints. Some caution is advised, however, because like all essential oils, it can have a deleterious effect on the body in larger doses. An oleo- resin is exuded from the tree. It can also be obtained from the tree by making incisions in the trunk. This resin contains tannin and is powerfully astringent, it is used internally in the treatment of diarrhoea and bladder inflammation, externally it is applied to cuts etc. Treats throat ailments.

Antidiarrhoeal: Provides symptomatic relief for diarrhoea. Also see Astringent.

Antiinflammatory: Reduces inflammation of joints, injuries etc.

Antiseptic: Preventing sepsis, decay or putrefaction, it destroys or arrests the growth of micro-organisms.

Aromatic: Having an agreeable odour and stimulant qualities.

Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.

Disinfectant: Used for cleaning wounds.

Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.

Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.

Other

Rating: 4

A gum is obtained from the plant. It is used medicinally and in tanning. The leaves contain 0.1 - 0.4% essential oil, 77% of which is cineol There is some cuminal, phellandrene, aromadendren (or aromadendral), and some valerylaldehyde, geraniol, cymene, and phellandral. The leaves contain 5 - 11% tannin. The kino contains 45% kinotannic acid as well as kino red, a glycoside, catechol, and pyrocatechol. The leaves and fruits test positive for flavonoids and sterols. The bark contains 2.5 - 16% tannin, the wood 2 - 14%, and the kino 46.2 - 76.7%. A fast growing tree with wide-ranging roots, it can be planted in soil stabilization schemes and can also be planted in marshy land where it will help in draining the land, thereby destroying a potential breeding site for mosquitoes. It is planted in S. Italy for this purpose. The wood, durable, easy to saw, yet resistant to termites, is widely used in Australia for strong durable construction, interior finish, flooring, cabinetry, furniture, fence posts, cross-ties, sometimes pulpwood. Australian aborigines made canoes from the bark. According to NAS (1980a), annual wood yields are around 20 - 25 m3/ha in Argentina, 30 m3 from Israel, 17 - 20 from Turkey in the first rotation, and 25 - 30 in subsequent coppice rotations. On poor arid sites yields are only 2 - 11 m3 on 14 or 15 year rotations.

Biomass: Provides a large quantity of plant material that can be converted into fuel etc.

Disinfectant: Plants used for disinfecting.

Essential: Essential oils that are used in perfumery, medicines, paint solvents, insect repellents etc.

Fencing: Plants that can be used for fencing.

Furniture: A few miscellaneous uses that do not fit easily into other headings.

Gum: Gums have a wide range of uses, especially as stabilizers, emulsifiers, thickening agents, adhesives etc.

Resin: Used in perfumery, medicines, paints, soap making etc. This also includes turpentine, which is extracted from many resins and used as a preservative, water proofer etc,

Shelterbelt: Wind resistant plants than can be grown to provide shelter in the garden etc.

Soil stabilization: Plants that can be grown in places such as sand dunes in order to prevent erosion by wind, water or other agents.

Tannin: An astringent substance obtaied from plants, it is used medicinally, as a dye and mordant, stabilizer in pesticide etc.

Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.

Agroforestry Services: Windbreak: Linear plantings of trees and shrubs designed to enhance crop production, protect people and livestock and benefit soil and water conservation.

Global Crop: These crops are already grown or traded around the world. The annual value of each is more than $1 billion US Examples include coconuts, almonds, and bananas.

Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels

Industrial Crop: Tannin: Occur generally in the roots, wood, bark, leaves, and fruit of many plants. Used in tanning leather, dyeing fabric, making ink, and medical applications.

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Other Systems: SRC: Short-rotation coppice.

Agroforestry Services: Windbreak: Linear plantings of trees and shrubs designed to enhance crop production, protect people and livestock and benefit soil and water conservation.

Global Crop: These crops are already grown or traded around the world. The annual value of each is more than $1 billion US Examples include coconuts, almonds, and bananas.

Industrial Crop: Tannin: Occur generally in the roots, wood, bark, leaves, and fruit of many plants. Used in tanning leather, dyeing fabric, making ink, and medical applications.

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Other Systems: SRC: Short-rotation coppice.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

Coppice: A traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down.

Scented Plants: Plants noted for their scent

How it is grown

Landscape Uses:Aggressive surface roots possible, Specimen. Prefers a sunny position in a moderately fertile well-drained moisture retentive circum-neutral soil. Succeeds in most soils, tolerating poor and dry soils, especially those low in mineral elements. A drought resistant tree once established, it is slightly salt tolerant, and can also withstand periodic inundation. A very fast growing tree. Plants tolerate an annual precipitation of 103 to 206cm and an annual temperature range of 18.0 to 26.6°C. It is reported to grow in areas with only 20cm rainfall, but the lower limit for commercial plantations is 40cm. Some provenances tolerate many different soil conditions such as high calcium, high salt and periodic water-logging.The mean maximum temperature of the warmest month where it grows well is ca 29°C. The dry season lasts 4 - 8 months or more and may be severe. Fairly frost resistant, plants survive temperatures down to at least -7°c in Australian gardens. This figure is not directly relatable to British gardens, however, because of our cooler summers and colder, wetter winters. It could be worthwhile giving this species a try in the milder areas of the country. Some Provenances can tolerate temperatures down to about -5°C and up to 20 frosts per year. Eucalyptus species have not adopted a deciduous habit and continue to grow until it is too cold for them to do so. This makes them more susceptible to damage from sudden cold snaps. If temperature fluctuations are more gradual, as in a woodland for example, the plants have the opportunity to stop growing and become dormant, thus making them more cold resistant. A deep mulch around the roots to prevent the soil from freezing also helps the trees to survive cold conditions. The members of this genus are remarkably adaptable however, there can be a dramatic increase in the hardiness of subsequent generations from the seed of survivors growing in temperate zones. Trees are liable to shed branches, especially in hot weather. This is said to be the most widely distributed eucalyptus tree in Australia, ranging over 23° lat. in most of arid and semiarid Australia but not the humid eastern and south-western coasts. It is regarded as one of the most widely planted eucalypts in the world with more than 500,000 ha planted. It is planted in Europe, especially in Italy, as a timber crop, for soil stabilization and as an anti-malarial measure. Some provenances coppice well for six or more rotations, on good sites, plantations are managed on coppice rotations of 7 - 10 years. Eucalyptus monocultures are an environmental disaster, they are voracious, allelopathic and encourage the worst possible attitudes to land use and conservation. Plants are shallow-rooting and, especially in windy areas, should be planted out into their permanent positions when small to ensure that they do not suffer from wind-rock. They strongly resent root disturbance and should be container grown before planting out into their permanent position. Survivalists in Australia and elsewhere might learn how the aborigines obtained water from the superficial roots, usually those ca 3 cm in diameter. The roots were excavated or lifted to the soil surface. Then the root was cut into segments ca 45 cm long, debarked, held vertically, and blown into, the water then draining into the receptacle provided. The flowers are rich in nectar and are a good bee crop. Special Features:Fragrant foliage, Not North American native, Attractive flowers or blooms.

Propagating it: Seed - surface sow February/March in a sunny position in a greenhouse. Species that come from high altitudes appreciate 6 - 8 weeks cold stratification at 2°c. Pot up the seedlings into individual pots as soon as the second set of seed leaves has developed, if left longer than this they might not move well. Plant out into their permanent positions in early summer and give them some protection from the cold in their first winter. The seed can also be sown in June, the young trees being planted in their final positions in late spring of the following year. The seed has a long viability.

Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Canopy; Secondary; Bog Garden;

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 8-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Dry, moist, wet

Things to keep in mind

Citronellal, an essential oil found in most Eucalyptus species is reported to be mutagenic when used in isolation. In large doses, oil of eucalyptus, like so many essential oils has caused fatalities from intestinal irritation. Death is reported from ingestion of 4 - 24 ml of essential oils, but recoveries are also reported for the same amount. Symptoms include gastroenteric burning and irritation, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, oxygen deficiency, weakness, dizziness, stupor, difficult respiration, delirium, paralysis, convulsions, and death, usually due to respiratory failure.

Its other names

Local names

Gum, Murray Red Gum, River Red Eucalyptus, River Red, australian kino, australian red gum, botany bay kino, eucalyptus kino, kino australiensis

Synonyms

E. rostratus. Schlecht. non Cav.

Red River Gum, Murray Red Gum, River Red Eucalyptus Eucalyptus camaldulensis