gum trees

gum trees
Eucalyptus Eu`ca*lyp"tus, n. [NL., from Gr. e'y^ well, good + ? covered. The buds of Eucalyptus have a hemispherical or conical covering, which falls off at anthesis.] (Bot.) A myrtaceous genus of trees, mostly Australian. Many of them grow to an immense height, one or two species exceeding the height even of the California Sequoia.

Syn: eucalyptus tree, gum tree, eucalypt. [1913 Webster]

Note: They have rigid, entire leaves with one edge turned toward the zenith. Most of them secrete resinous gums, whence they called {gum trees}, and their timber is of great value. {Eucalyptus Globulus} is the blue gum; {E. gigantea}, the stringy bark: {E. amygdalina}, the peppermint tree. {E. Gunnii}, the Tasmanian cider tree, yields a refreshing drink from wounds made in the bark in the spring. Other species yield oils, tars, acids, dyes and tans. It is said that miasmatic valleys in Algeria and Portugal, and a part of the unhealthy Roman Campagna, have been made more salubrious by planting groves of these trees. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gum — or GUM may refer to:Confectionary* Chewing gum * Functional chewing gum or Functional gum * Bubble gum * Wine gum * Gumdrop * Gum base * Gum industryNatural gums* Gum anima * Gum arabic * Cassia gum * Dammar gum * Gellan gum * Guar gum * Locust… …   Wikipedia

  • gum tree — gum trees N COUNT A gum tree is a tree such as a eucalyptus that produces gum …   English dictionary

  • gum tree — noun any of various trees of the genera Eucalyptus or Liquidambar or Nyssa that are sources of gum • Syn: ↑gum • Hypernyms: ↑tree • Hyponyms: ↑liquidambar, ↑eucalyptus, ↑eucalypt, ↑eucalyptus tree …   Useful english dictionary

  • gum tree — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms gum tree : singular gum tree plural gum trees a eucalyptus tree • up a gum tree …   English dictionary

  • Gum-digger — Gum diggers were men and women who dug for kauri gum, a fossilised resin, in the old kauri fields of New Zealand at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The gum was used mainly for varnish.The term may be a source for the nick …   Wikipedia

  • Gum — Gum, n. [OE. gomme, gumme, F. gomme, L. gummi and commis, fr. Gr. ?, prob. from an Egyptian form kam?; cf. It. {gomma}.] 1. A vegetable secretion of many trees or plants that hardens when it exudes, but is soluble in water; as, gum arabic; gum… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gum acacia — Gum Gum, n. [OE. gomme, gumme, F. gomme, L. gummi and commis, fr. Gr. ?, prob. from an Egyptian form kam?; cf. It. {gomma}.] 1. A vegetable secretion of many trees or plants that hardens when it exudes, but is soluble in water; as, gum arabic;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gum Acaroidea — Gum Gum, n. [OE. gomme, gumme, F. gomme, L. gummi and commis, fr. Gr. ?, prob. from an Egyptian form kam?; cf. It. {gomma}.] 1. A vegetable secretion of many trees or plants that hardens when it exudes, but is soluble in water; as, gum arabic;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gum animal — Gum Gum, n. [OE. gomme, gumme, F. gomme, L. gummi and commis, fr. Gr. ?, prob. from an Egyptian form kam?; cf. It. {gomma}.] 1. A vegetable secretion of many trees or plants that hardens when it exudes, but is soluble in water; as, gum arabic;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gum animi or anim'e — Gum Gum, n. [OE. gomme, gumme, F. gomme, L. gummi and commis, fr. Gr. ?, prob. from an Egyptian form kam?; cf. It. {gomma}.] 1. A vegetable secretion of many trees or plants that hardens when it exudes, but is soluble in water; as, gum arabic;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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