Blue Gum

With its pale blue bark and attractive light pink heartwood, blue gum has attributes which make it appealing to a wide variety of users. Known as Eucalyptus globulus, blue gum is a relative of karri and jarrah.

The veneer from the blue gum species has become increasingly popular with furniture designers and architects. Marketed as blush, the wood has a pinkish hue. Blue gum also yields a very unusual burl.

The general characteristics of the tree include a pink or pale yellow brown heartwood. Its sapwood is usually a gray-white. The grain is often interlocked and texture can be medium coarse. The trees yield the oil but the timer itself is without odor or taste. Gum veins in some trees can affect the look of the grain.

In addition to residential furniture and architectural woodwork, uses include pallets, fenceposts, general construction, utility plywood, flooring pulp and paper products, lumber and veneer. While its heartwood is moderately resistant to decay, the sapwood is liable to attack by termites and powder-post beetles.

Blue gum is one of the many species of eucalyptus that has non-timber uses. The leaf glands of the trees are filled with an extremely distinctive smelling oil. The oil is extracted form the leaves by steam distillation and used to produce all sorts of products and medicines. The oil has a camphor smell and a spicy taste. It is used in expectorants for treating cold, coughs and bronchitis. Blue gum is also planted strictly for decorative purposes as an ornamental tree.

The wood needs care during seasoning to avoid distortion and splitting. It is prone to checking with some tendency to warp and collapse. The wood is also heavy. It saws well, but torn grain can be a problem when dressing quartered faces. To rotary peel it is necessary to heat bolts. Irregular grain can pose problems with cutting surfaces. Experts advise to keep cutting surfaces sharp.