The major eucalypt plantation species grown in Tasmania are Eucalyptus nitens and E. globulus. E. globulus is the native Tasmanian blue gum, and E. nitens is shining gum, a closely related eucalypt that is native to Victoria. The native forest where E. nitens occurs provides drinking water to Melbourne and many other Victorian cities and towns.
No plantation eucalypts in Australia have been genetically engineered, including E. nitens and E. globulus in Tasmania. Instead, plantation trees have been selected from native forest trees for better growth rate and wood properties. Seedlings are grown from seeds produced by pollination of trees in seed orchards. Crops and animals farmed in Tasmania for food have undergone far greater levels of selection and breeding than plantation trees.
No E. nitens or E. globulus plantation trees in Australia have been selected for toxicity to insects or browsing mammals. Studies have been undertaken on the natural variation of eucalypts to resist insect and mammal browsing based on natural leaf chemistry, but this has not resulted in any selection.
All eucalypts contain oils that have natural antiseptic/antibiotic properties when they are concentrated, and that are used in many common household products. These oils are toxic if ingested in large quantities. E. nitens has lower levels of oils than do most other eucalypts in Tasmanian native forests.
Division of Forest Research and Development
Forestry Tasmania
Phone: 03 6235 8219
Email: research@forestrytas.com.au
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