Cave Painting Australian Aboriginal Art

The Jarrah a Unique West Australian Tree

Jarrah Forest Flora and Fauna of the Month!
The Jarrah    

Kingdom: Plantae

Family: Mytaceae
Species: Eaucalyptus marginata
Jarrah
The Forest Heritage Centre in Dwellingup is situated amongst the South West Australia Forest and the the Jarrah is our one of our local Australian Eaucalyptus species.
We offer guided tours at the Forest Heritage Centre, Dwellingup, and part of the tour is to educate people on the wide variety of Flora and Fauna.
The Eaucalyptus marginata is named after the distinct margin around the inside of the leaf edge and ‘Jarrah’ is the Aboriginal name for this gum tree.
The Jarrah was once known as the Swan River Mahogany in the 1800′s and as the name suggest the wood can range in colour from light orange/pinkish browns to the rich red/burgundy browns.
Flowering Jarrah’s have a cream coloured corymb shaped flower potruding from a small conical shaped fruit, when the flower is spent and finished fruiting, the nut often falls to the forest floor and is a small round shaped gumnut that can be used in Art and Crafts.
The honey that bees produce from this flower is a rich deep red and has a wonderful rich flavour. The strong dense wood of the Jarrah is prized in furniture making and construction and utilized all over the world.
Jarrah can be found in the old streets of London and Berlin as cobblestone paving, and Jarrah is used around the world in wharves, jetties and sleepers for railways.
Jarrah is a strong dense wood that is termite resistant and also resistant to some species of marine pests e.g. species of marine boras or some species of marine worms.
The Jarrahs’ bark has insulating qualities that protect the tree from our frequent bushfires, (the Austalian bush needs fire to regenerate), but when a fire is fierce and destroys the tree, the Jarrah has adapted by having lignotubers attached to the underground root system and these are a source of energy that can resprout a new tree.

This tree along with other Australian Flora and Fauna can be spotted when you walk our Jarrah/Marri forest and our Canopy tree top walk at the
Forest Heritage Centre, Dwellingup.
Hope to see you soon!

References

• Dana Berry
  Tour guide information.

About the Author

I currently work for the Forest Heritage Centre in Dwellingup Western Australia improving their web page weekly as well as tour guide and art/craft Lecturer.

Men who can change the world – Yindi Artz Commission piece – Aboriginal Art

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