We’ve all heard of the eucalyptus tree. Koalas can only sustain themselves on a steady diet of its leaves and the tree oil is good in vaporizers for chest ailments during a cold. However, eucalyptus is becoming a very popular flooring product.
Multiple species of eucalyptus are now grown outside Australia, having been transplanted in Brazil and Paraguay for the timber market. Unlike many of the flooring products out there many eucalyptus species have a dark, pinkish hue and this can go as dark as a burgundy. It is extremely hard having a Janka rating of 1125, which puts it just behind oak in durability.
Australian eucalyptus is grown in areas especially reserved for sustainable forest harvesting and not from rain forests. In the United States eucalyptus grows in Hawaii, California and Florida. Far from being a good neighbor there are large stands around the San Francisco area that have pushed out native species like oak, bay laurel, and madrone. So harvesting this nuisance species and turning it into flooring is alright with environmentalists.
A few years ago the Weyerhaeuser company introduced its Lyptus hardwood product which is a hybrid wood harvested from plantations in Brazil and Paraguay. This creates jobs and provides a sustainable economic industry without harming any rain forest land.
European-grown eucalyptus is grown in Chain-of-Custody certified renewable forests and is available in 3/4″ planks and engineered form.
