Xanthorrhoea
October 2nd 2009 02:27
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Australian Native
Grasstree
These primitive plants consisting of about 20 species are said to have been on the Australian continent for over 100 million years, pre dating the eucalypts.
Grass trees are very slow growing and may live to a great age. Normal growth rate is about 2 or 3 centimetres a year or about 1 metre in 30 years. They generally reach a height of 2 or 3 metres with some varieties growing to more than 5 metres. Some of these taller plants may be 500 or more years old, putting them amongst some of the oldest living plants.
The usefulness of the grasstree was appreciated by the indigenous Australians who gathered the longicorn grub, often found burrowed in the trunk for food. They also made use of the long spikes in framework construction of their shelters with the leaves used as a kind of thatching, and a type of resin extracted from the charred wood was used to fix heads to their spears and axes.
Grass trees are well adapted to poor infertile soil and harsh conditions often found in arid, desert wastes, with the ability to survive bush fires. Another Australian beauty.
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