eucalyptus

American  

[yoo-kuh-lip-tuhs] / ˌju kəˈlɪp təs /

Also eucalypt

noun

• eucalypti,
  plural
• eucalyptuses
  plural

1. any of numerous often tall trees belonging to the genus Eucalyptus, of the myrtle family, native to Australia and adjacent islands, having aromatic evergreen leaves that are the source of medicinal oils and heavy wood used as timber.

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eucalyptus British  

/ ˌjuːkəˈlɪptəs, ˈjuːkəˌlɪpt /

noun

1. any myrtaceous tree of the mostly Australian genus Eucalyptus, such as the blue gum and ironbark, widely cultivated for the medicinal oil in their leaves ( eucalyptus oil ), timber, and ornament

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• eucalyptic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• eucalypti
  plural
• eucalyptuses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of eucalyptus

1800–10; < New Latin < Greek eu- eu- + kalyptós covered, wrapped, akin to kalýptein to cover

Explanation

Eucalyptus is an Australian plant that produces an oil with a strong, distinctive scent. Koalas are famously fond of eating eucalyptus leaves. There are more than 600 species of eucalyptus trees and shrubs, many of which are known in their native habitat of Australia and Tasmania as "gumtrees." Most North American eucalyptus is raised for its astringent scent, or for use in cut flower arrangements. The word eucalyptus was coined by an 18th-century French botanist, from the Greek eu, "well," and kalyptos, "covered," a description of the plant's flower bud.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

eucalyptus eucalypti eucalyptuses

A largely sedentary and inflexible creature, dependent on eucalyptus leaves for much of their water, koalas quickly develop dehydration when hotter conditions persist.

From Barron's ● May 26, 2026

Our favorite walk is to our neighborhood park, an old one with tall eucalyptus trees surrounding what used to be a cemetery, Pioneer Park.

From Salon ● May 9, 2026

Their findings, published in Volume 18, Issue 3 of the journal Nutrients, focused on compounds commonly found in mint, eucalyptus, and chili peppers.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 9, 2026

They are taking his eucalyptus logs to a pulp mill in Uruguay 15 kilometers away.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025

Vicks Rub comes in a green bottle and smells of eucalyptus and menthol.

From "Ninth Ward" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

As the orange ball of the sun rose on the horizon and birds twittered in the eucalypti, Baumgarten showed up—a fit, poised, attractive guy in his 40s.

From Golf Digest ● Apr. 2, 2020

A hot sun blazed over Skhirat, where King Hassan II's rambling white summer palace is set amid oaks, poplars and eucalypti beside the Atlantic, and cooling breezes wafted in from the ocean.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hasn't California many eucalyptus trees originally brought from Australia, and among the California eucalypti can't some of the twelve varieties the Koala feeds upon be found?

From Time Magazine Archive

The walls of the palaces, ivory tinted and shadowed by palms, eucalypti and myriad shrubs, assume a new and more wonderful aspect under the batteries of the searchlights.

From The Architecture and Landscape Gardening of the Exposition A Pictorial Survey of the Most Beautiful Achitectural Compositions of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition by Louis Christian Mullgardt

The scrub beyond was close and consisted of a variety of dark-leaved shrubs, among which the eucalypti were almost the only trees to which I was not a stranger.

From Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 1 by Thomas Mitchell

In the park, hundreds of mostly non-native — and notoriously flammable — eucalyptuses, were considered part of the cultural historic landscape, Tejada said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025

Like many other very large trees in L.A. — the eucalyptuses, the bunya-bunyas, the Moreton Bay figs — it hails from Australia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2024

Loosely modeled on cactuses, palms, pines and eucalyptuses, they are tucked between bowling alleys and sewage treatment plants.

From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2021

Redwoods, madrones and manzanitas will be replanted, Mr. Rivail said, but not eucalyptuses, which he called “tinder boxes with oils.”

From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2021

Since eucalyptuses are particularly resistant to fire, they spread far and wide while other trees and shrubs disappeared.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari