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Description |
Photograph of Eucalyptus trees lining the dirt road on the corner of Gower Street and Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, [s.d.]. The dirt road is laced with tracks. Grass covers the surrounding areas. Fallen leaves from the trees are scattered around on the grass. Houses (or buildings) are visible at right.; "This group consists of more than 400, quick-growing, tender, evergreen trees and some shrubs native to Tasmania and Australia. These unique trees can grow to gigantic proportions; some species can reach heights over 400 feet in their native habitats and up to 200 feet in California. Eucalyptus trees, also popularly known as Gum trees because some species exude a gum, are fragrant and normally pest-resistant. These trees have leathery, smooth, lance-shaped leaves, which have a more rounded shape when young. Their puffball-like flowers may be red or orange and are very attractive to bees. They have no petals, but instead, numerous stamens arising from a capsule-like calyx, which give them their fluffy appearance. The attractive, colorful bark of the stems and trunks of the Eucalyptus may be dappled in gray, green, russet, or cream and may peel in sheets. Besides the decorative qualities of the trees, Eucalyptus are valued for their timber, the important oils of the leaves and shoots, tannin, which is taken from the bark of some varieties, and a resinous substance known as kino. E. parvifolia is a beautiful, medium-sized species that has beautifully colored, peeling bark. At maturity, the leaves are small, slender, and blue-green. This species tolerates alkaline soil. E. citriodora (Lemon-scented gum) is a large, quick-growing tree with smooth, white bark and lemon-scented leaves. E. coccifera (Tasmanian snow gum) is a large tree with bloomy (bloom is a powdery, waxy substance sometimes covering plants) leaves and stems, not evident in young plants. The bark peels to reveal a white trunk. E. ficifolia (Red flowering gum) is a medium-sized plant with clusters of beautiful, feathery, red flowers up to a foot long. E. pauciflora subsp. niphophila (Snow gum) is a small, fairly slow-growing tree that is covered in large, leathery, grayish-green leaves. The multi-colored trunk has been compared to the skin of a python with its green, gray, and cream bark."--unknown author. |
