ABSTRACT
Eucalyptus dominates more than 90 per cent of Australian forests and woodlands and supports a wide range of endemic vertebrates and invertebrates. Nonetheless, few insects, and even fewer mammals, eat the foliage to any appreciable extent (Landsberg and Cork 1997). Eucalyptus foliage contains low amounts of dietary nitrogen, which is essential for the maintenance and reproduction of all animals (Cork and Foley 1991), but also appreciable amounts of essential oils and phenolic compounds. Both these groups of compounds are believed to have a significant influence on the acceptability of foliage as food and the nutritional quality of that foliage (Hume 1982).
