Family: Myrtaceae
Hardwood
Country of Origin: Australia

The tree:
The genus Eucalyptus is remarkable for the range of climatic and soil conditions it will tolerate. It can survive — in fact it is adapted to — fire, drought, and flood. Eucalyptus saligna belongs to the warmer coastal parts of New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland. It is fairly common in these areas, where it is an impressive tree; it can be 55 m tall and 2 m in diameter. It generally has a straight, branch-free trunk for half to two-thirds of its heights. Although E. saligna characteristically carries 1-4 m of rough, brownish bark at its base, it is the smooth gum bark above which makes an impression. In this connection, it is not generally appreciated that eucalypts with smooth trunks like this have to shed their bark — all of it — once a year.

The wood:
In contrast to the ash-type eucalypts the wood of E. saligna is pink or reddish brown. The ash-type eucalypts should be quarter-sawn, with growth rings vertical to the edges of the boards, to reduce the effects of internal checking. E saligna does not have this problem so there is no need to quarter-saw it.