Eucalyptus in the British Isles

Eucalypts have been planted successfully in Great Britain and Ireland since the mid nineteenth century. While most of the seven hundred species of eucalypts are not suited to the relative cold of the climate of the British Isles, trials in Britain and Ireland have shown that certain species and subspecies can grow successfully. Further, some eucalypts are the fastest growing trees in the British Isles with mean annual increments of between 25 m3/ha/year and 38 m3/ha/year being reported. Rapid development of a wood biomass energy sector has encouraged a reassessment of the potential of eucalypts grown on short rotations as a source of energy. This article describes the history of eucalypts in the British Isles and their potential.