Coachwood

Description:

This is Coachwood, an Australian native. These specimens are by no means largest I have seen, but they are none-the-less beautiful. Coachwood is a medium-sized hardwood, straight-growing with smooth, fragrant, greyish bark. The stem has distinctive horizontal marks, or scars, which often encircle the trunk, and it always seems to be encrusted with lichens (see notes). Larger trees have short buttresses. Usually grows to a height of 15 to 25 metres, however exceptional specimens can reach 40 metres tall and live for centuries.

Habitat:

Spotted along the Morelia Track at Mt. Nebo, in D'Aguilar National Park. Wet eucalypt forest and sub-tropical rainforest sections. Gullies of Cabbage and Piccabeen Palms. At this time of year, any area with a southern aspect in the national park is well-shaded and generally quite moist. Coachwood occurs in the central and northern coastal rainforests of New South Wales and southern Queensland. The species prefers gullies and creeks and often occurs in almost pure stands.

Notes:

I recognised the tree species immediately when I saw the lichens growing on the trunks. Here's another spotting that particularly shows the dark lichen (photos 2 and 4). I thought at first this may have been resin from the tree, but that's not the case. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/329...