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5(1): Timber trees; Major commercial timbers

Eucalyptus citriodora Hook.

This article should be read together with the article on the genus: Eucalyptus in the Handbook volume indicated above in this database.

T.L. Mitchell, Journ. exped. trop. Australia: 235 (1848).

Eucalyptus melissiodora Lindley (1848), Eucalyptus variegata F. v. Mueller (1859), Eucalyptus maculata Hook. var. citriodora (Hook.) Bailey (1900).

Lemon-scented gum, spotted gum (En). Vietnam: b[aj]ch d[af]n d[or].

Native to Queensland, Australia. Commonly planted throughout the tropics and in the Mediterranean area; in the Malesian area mainly in Peninsular Malaysia.

The timber is used for general construction, bridges, railway sleepers, flooring, poles, sporting goods, agricultural implements and tool handles. The tree is planted as one of the better eucalypts for low regions in tropical and subtropical regions for pulp production, eucalypt oil and also as an ornamental or for reforestation.

A medium-sized to large tree of up to 40(-50) m tall, bole straight, bark smooth, white, powdery, sometimes pink, red or blue-grey; juvenile leaves alternate, ovate to broadly lanceolate, sometimes setose, petiolate, sometimes peltate, adult leaves alternate, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, 8-16 cm 0.5-2 cm, acuminate, strongly lemon-scented when crushed, petiole 13-20 mm long; inflorescence terminal and compound or axillary and simple, umbels with 3 flowers; flower buds clavate, operculum hemispherical, 3-4 mm 4-5 mm, apiculate; fruit ovoid or urceolate, 7-15 mm 7-11 mm, often warty, with 3-4 deeply included valves. Eucalyptus citriodora grows naturally on undulating country, in open forest and woodland, generally on poor soils from 80-800 m altitude. The density of the wood is 785-990 kg/m³ at 12% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

[63a]Boland, D.J. et al., 1984. Forest trees of Australia. Industrial Research Organisation, Melbourne. 687 pp.
[66]Bolza, E. & Kloot, N.H., 1963. The mechanical properties of 174 Australian timbers. Technological Paper No 25. Division of Forest Products, CSIRO, Melbourne. 112 pp.
[97]Budgen, B., 1981. The shrinkage and density of some Australian and South-east Asian Timbers. Technical Paper (2nd ser.) No 38. Division of Building Research, CSIRO, Melbourne. 33 pp.
[232]Flora of Australia (various editors), 1981–. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
[322a]Hillis, W.E. & Brown, A.G., 1978. Eucalypts for wood production. Griffin Press, Adelaide. 434 pp.
[343]Jacobs, M.R., 1981. Eucalypts for planting, 2nd ed. FAO Forestry Series No 11. FAO, Rome. 677 pp.
[540]Penfold, A.R. & Willis, J.L., 1961. The eucalypts: botany, cultivation, chemistry and utilisation. Hill, London. 551 pp.

C.C.H. Jongkind

Jongkind, C.C.H., 1993. Eucalyptus citriodora Hook.. In: Soerianegara, I. and Lemmens, R.H.M.J. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 5(1): Timber trees; Major commercial timbers. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea