Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

blue gum Myrtaceae Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: EUGL
Leaf: Alternate (may be opposite on young branches), simple, evergreen, leathery, ovate to narrowly lanceolate, 4 to 8 inches long, often curved and drooping, long pointed, entire margins, aromatic, dull green above, bluish bloom beneath, young foliage more blue.
Flower: Round, 2 inches across, with very long creamy white stamens, no petals, making it look like a round bottle brush, appearing singly in leaf axils in winter and early spring.
Fruit: Dry, heavy capsules, 1/2 to 1 inch long, looks like a child's wooden top, bluish and warty when fresh, later turning brown.
Twig: Slender, yellow-green to reddish, smooth.
Bark: Attractive, peels in long loose strips, often piling up at base; outer bark rough reddish brown, inner bark smooth creamy white to yellow-green.
Form: A large tree with a straight trunk that can reach 200 feet tall and several feet in diameter.
 Looks like: shining gum - red ironbark - river red gum - sugargum

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Additional Range Information: Eucalyptus globulus is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and may seed into the landscape. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Wood
External Links: USDAFS Silvics of North America - USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information