This classic Tasmanian eucalypt is the State’s floral emblem. Blue gum grows from a tiny seed ejected from its characteristic large ‘gum nuts’ during summer. Blue juvenile leaves give way to shiny dark green foliage which for much of the year is highlighted by cream flowers producing copious nectar – food not only for bees but also the nationally endangered swift parrot, a migratory bird which breeds only in Tasmania.

The hard, close-grained wood of the blue gum made spears for Aboriginal Tasmanians, while projecting burls on the trunk were used for bowls. Bowls were made, too, from its thick bark, which was also used for making canoes.

Aborigines used the liquid residue from boiled leaves for drinking or rubbing on the body to treat chest colds, and inhaled its odours for headaches. Blue gum leaves were also used in poultices for wounds, inflammation and rheumatism, and the sugary white residue of dried sap oozing from the trees made a sweet food.

Modern Australians value blue gum for its timber. It yields pale, hard and durable wood
for poles, piles and sleepers. It’s also been used for paper pulp and firewood, and its pollen and nectar is food for honeybees. Blue gum eucalyptus oil is used for many things
– as an insecticide, a decongestant, a deodorant, and for antifungal and antibacterial use. It is also a food flavouring and a cosmetics fragrance.