Gum Trees
Created | Updated Sep 5, 2002
I love gum trees, those native Australian trees sometimes known as eucalyptus trees. They shed their bark as they grow and never shed their leaves. Insects and frogs live under this bark. I love the way the crushed leaves smell. You can get lemon scented gums, the frankincense smell and the vicks vaporub smell. Sometimes they ooze sap to deter termites. This smells like an exotic type of incense. Speaking of exotic smells - koala p**s smells like concentrated eucalyptus oil mixed with regular p**s. The best time to smell the bush is right after a storm. The weight of the water on trees which have not been in heavy rain for months can cause small branches to snap, releasing aromatic smells. They provide a dappled shade which moves with the wind. Their leaves rustle in the wind. You plant them and they just get on with it. They don't like too much watering, and usually put on a burst of growth during a dry spell. The new growth is light green/yellow, red or maroon. Their oil fills the Australian bush with a sweet smelling haze. They have red, yellow, white and green flowers which feed parrots and flying foxes. The bark of the Scribbly Gum looks like it has been scribbled on by a child, but it is insects which create the patterns. you can put a gum leaf in some recipes, the lemon scented ones go well with fish.><>
They are highly flammable, with the dry shedding bark and the oil filled leaves - boy do they go up. In big bush fires, the treetops explode sending showers of sparks to ignite other trees. The best part about them is they are built to survive intense heat, some even need fire for their seeds to germinate. Gum trees and Acacias are being used to reclaim the edges of the Sahara Desert.
They are highly flammable, with the dry shedding bark and the oil filled leaves - boy do they go up. In big bush fires, the treetops explode sending showers of sparks to ignite other trees. The best part about them is they are built to survive intense heat, some even need fire for their seeds to germinate. Gum trees and Acacias are being used to reclaim the edges of the Sahara Desert.
