Within the tropics, though, it could produce wood faster than most native species, although the tendency of the wood to crack and warp made it unsuitable for many uses. Brazil developed a thriving pulp industry based on extensive eucalypt plantations. India and countries in South-east Asia planted huge numbers of eucalypts in hopes of creating an abundant source of timber, but in these areas the problems of monoculture became severe. Eucalypts are notoriously thirsty trees and were found to dry out the soil and promote erosion. They also produce highly flammable leaf litter that may be poisonous to other plants.
Lively controversy continues to surround the trees today.
This history of eucalypts and man's attempts to utilize them is told in nine concise chapters and is illustrated by a number of black and white photographs. Appendices provide habitat and usage information on major eucalypt species, a comparison of eucalypt coverage statistics by country between the 1970s and 1990s, and chronologies of events relating to eucalypts culture outside Australia and to the Anacruz Celulose company of Brazil. An extensive bibliography is provided. While the commercial aspects of eucalypts are dealt with admirably, there is little in this book that one would consider natural history. Taxonomy is dealt with very briefly, but traditional natural history subjects such as evolution, pollination, and floral morphology are not addressed at all.