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The genus name is derived from the Greek eu, meaning "well", and kalyptos, meaning "cover." This name refers to the well-covered flower buds - a very fruitful tree.

Specifically, the "fruit" of the Eucalyptus tree is harvested for the clarifying aroma. Lots of the hundreds of colds and flu preparations available -- cough drops, throat lozenges and chest rubs -- contain eucalyptus oil and its derivatives. The spiritual meaning is that a salve is needed to heal wounds.

Along this same healing theme, the Eucalyptus tree was commonly referred to as the fever tree. Nineteenth-century British colonists, noting the fragrant, medicinal aroma of eucalyptus groves, planted the trees in tropical fever ridden districts throughout the Empire in an effort to drive away insects and contagious disease. An added plus (in the colonists' eyes) was that the trees also tended to dry out water-logged soils with their extensive, hungry root systems, making marshy soils into arable, habitable land. This deterred disease-carrying insects, especially mosquitoes, which need standing water to breed.

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15y ago

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