E is for Eucalyptus Trees (and Elephants)
 (This is part of a series, Blogging from A to Z April 2014 Challenge. My theme for the challenge is Quintessential San Diego from A to Z, focusing on those things that are  typical, or perfect, or classic examples of San Diego life. Today is E.)
Yesterday we took our grandkiddos to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. I knew this Eucalyptus post was coming up, so I wanted to get some pictures of eucalyptus trees while we were there. Look at this! How perfect is that? Two Elephants in front of some huge Eucalyptus trees.
What do Eucalyptus trees have to do with San Diego, you wonder? They are native to Australia, not the U.S. But they are ubiquitous here. (To which my husband would reply, And they are everywhere, too.) There is a funny little reason why.
In the 1800’s eucalyptus were seen as the answer to almost everything. Their leaves were believed to prevent malaria. The oil was believed to cure diphtheria. The long straight wood was thought to be perfect for building ships, and for making railway ties for the railroads being built across the country. But too soon, wooden ships were replaced with metal ones. And eucalyptus was found to split, and not be suitable for railroad ties.
“Two Running Violet V Forms”
In the meantime, though, various San Diego businessmen planted 1000’s of acres with multi-millions of trees. Groves can still be seen in the Scripps Ranch area, Rancho Santa Fe, and UCSD.
Now, though many 19th century beliefs about the benefits of eucalyptus have gone by the way, we still love our menthol-eucalyptus drops for relieving cold symptoms. And the beautiful trees, in myriads of varieties, grace every area of the county.
Source for Eucalyptus history in San Diego:Â
https://www.donnaamisdavis.com/e-eucalyptus-trees-elephants/Animals Wild & TameSan DiegoSan Diego A to Zelephants,eucalyptus,San Diego (This is part of a series, Blogging from A to Z April 2014 Challenge. My theme for the challenge is Quintessential San Diego from A to Z, focusing on those things that are  typical, or perfect, or classic examples of San Diego life. Today is E.) Yesterday we took our grandkiddos to the...Donna Amis DavisDonna Amis Davis[email protected]AdministratorDonna Amis Davis“San Diego’s Eucalyptus Bubble,” San Diego History Center
http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/70fall/eucalyptus.htm
Great pictures. we have yet to explore this area of the world but the more I read the more I think I might enjoy it. 🙂
Cool connection! Is it the Eucalyptus that also helps against spiders? I feel like we got some when we lived in the US and had a bunch of spiders.
I don’t know about spiders. I wish that would work. We get a lot of spiders during certain seasons on the year here. Yuck.
Great post! I love the San Diego Zoo – when we visited there was a little baby elephant and now looking at your pictures I wonder if he’s there all grown up now. We also visited the Zoo’s Wild Animal Park and were able to get up close to some elephants which was very cool!
The new zoo babies are definitely one of the best parts. So cute. Zoo with be my Z, of course, smile.
They were also seen as the answer to the swamps in Israel (as trees that drink a lot of water) but there too they disappointed…
When reading about the eucalyptus, I learned they were actually effective in draining some swamps up in Northern California, which led to the belief that they cured malaria. They actually just eliminated mosquito breeding areas. Lots of lore associated with eucalyptus, it seems.
The San Diego Zoo is awesome! My family and I visited it last year. I wasn’t aware that all those trees were eucalyptus trees!
Love the elephants under the eucalyptus trees!
That oil in the leaves of eucalyptus trees is also a prime fire accelerant. A massive fire amidst a eucalyptus forest is one of the worst in the realm of wildfires. Australians have to deal with that every summer.
That is so true. There is a controversy in one San Diego neighborhood about that very issue.
Very interesting place 🙂 noted on my bucket list!
That are two great “E”‘s you have there:-) Fun to read about… and makes me wanna go and see with my won 2 eyes:-) Good read Donna, I enjoyed it:-) http://expatliv.blogspot.in/
Thank you for stopping by. My first Norwegian friend was named Liv, and she told us it means Life.