Myrtaceae (Myrtle family) » Eucalyptus spp.

yoo-kuh-LIP-tus -- from the Greek eu (good) and kaluptos, (covered)

commonly known as: English: eucalyptus, fever tree • Hindi: सफ़ैदा safeda, निलगिरी nilgiri • Manipuri: nasik • Sanskrit: तेलपत्र tailapatra, तेलपर्ण tailaparna, सुगंधपत्र sugandhapatra • Tamil: நீலகிரி neelagiri • Telugu: jamaoil, neelagiri • Marathi: निलगिरी nilgiri • Konkani: निलगिरी nilgiri • Kannada: nilgiri

The Nilgiri (Tamil : நீலகிரி or literally: Blue Mountains) are the name given to a range of mountains panning across the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in Southern India. They are part of the larger Western Ghats mountain chain making up the western edge of the Deccan Plateau. They are often referred to as the Nilgiri Hills.

Nilgiri (Hindi, Marathi, Konkani: निलगिरी) -- in most of the Indian languages, the Eucalyptus tree is called by the name, Nilgiri. This naming must be having strong connection with the introduction of Eucalyptus trees in India ...

... first planted around 1790 by Tippu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, in his palace garden on Nandi hills near Bangalore. According to one version he received seeds from Australia and introduced about 16 species ... subsequent to the planting at Nandi Hills, the next significant introduction of Eucalyptus was in the Nilgiri hills, Tamil Nadu, in 1843, and later (1856) where regular plantations of E. globulus were raised to meet the demands for firewood ... more at Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.