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I don't think there's much of a rationale; nobody I knew in CA liked eucalyptus trees, they just are everywhere. I had heard they wanted to make railroad ties from them.

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Correct on the railroad ties. Well until they realised how long they take to grow properly so it didnt work out.

https://www.independent.com/2011/01/15/how-eucalyptus-came-c...

I really, I mean really, really like the slender ones with the almost white bark, and the limbs that branch off with the skin-like wrinkles on their undersides. The trunks and lower limbs remind me of the human form. And I like the broccoli-like crests of leaves, that while poor at providing shade, are just so doggone stylish.

There are other Eucalyptus trees that are massive and perhaps less attractive, that I still find awe inspiring because of their massive size.

I did not know that they were such a problem in wildfires, despite being born in and living nearly the whole of my life in Southern California. You learn something every day.

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