Eucalyptus Invades Oakland Hills

I love hiking in the Oakland Hills, and not being incredibly familiar with my Bay Area native vs invasive plant species, I assumed that the pervasive Eucalyptus were part of the natural environment. Not so. In fact eucalyptus is not just invasive, but is causing real problems for the traditional flora.

"The bark strips, and that along with the leaves and branches that litter the floor of a eucalyptus grove contain chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants. This litter is also flammable, and under some conditions can produce drifting burning materials. For example, the intensity and difficulty of the Oakland Hills fire was partially due to the high density of eucalyptus trees."

With this in mind I finally understand this girl's reaction, which I witnessed recently when hiking in the Hills (Love ya baby!). For more information see HERE.