Botanical atlas

Southern Blue Gum

Eucalyptus bicostata

Long before eucalyptus oil lined pharmacy shelves, Aboriginal Australians turned to the leaves and bark of blue gum eucalypts for wounds, fevers, and the aches of everyday life, often crushing the leaves to release their sharp, camphor-like scent for inhaling. Eucalyptus bicostata, known regionally as Eurabbie, became one of the tall timber and oil trees settlers prized both for its hardy lumber and for the cineole-rich oil pressed from its foliage. As colonial and later Western herbalism adopted eucalyptus, steam inhalations and chest rubs made from its leaves and oil became a household staple for the stuffy head and heavy chest that come with a winter cold. That legacy lives on today, mostly through the same gentle, external rituals that first made this tree beloved.

Safety.

Eucalyptus essential oil is toxic if swallowed, even in small amounts, and can be dangerous to children and pets, so it's used only externally or inhaled, diluted for skin use, and never taken internally. It may also interact with sedative or diabetes medications.