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Project Noah Nature School
Eucalyptus sp.
It has taken exactly 2 years, but this mystery has finally been solved! What I thought was evidence of a massive struggle and the untimely demise of some poor animal having been dragged up the tree to meet its fate, turns out to be evidence of a lightning strike instead. The tree was struck about 3-4 metres up its trunk, and the charred strike area and ripped bark that has "exploded outwards" as the electrical charge made its way to ground, is clearly evident. I had never seen this phenomenon before, so what is so glaringly obvious now went unrecognisd then - I had no idea what I was looking at! I'm confident this tree is a species of Eucalyptus, belonging to the family Myrtaceae. Very fiberous, red inner bark, so possibly a species of messmate or mahogany? It's just a guess, but I'll have a much closer look next time I'm on this trail. Species list including all eucalypts found in Main Range National Park.... https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetla...
Spotted along the ridge on the Mt. Mathieson Trail, in a section of wet sclerophyll forest bordering on subtropical rainforest, at Mt. Mathieson, Spicers Gap. This area forms part of Main Range National Park, and is included in the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area.
Speculation that this damaged bark was caused by an animal was based on my encounters with massive goannas (Varanus varius) in this exact area, and they are large and powerful animals that will take on just about anything (if they see it as potential prey)! They are also incredibly strong climbers! Here's one I spotted a little further up the track earlier this year.... https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/22... It was a long shot, but apart from a human cause, I had nothing else to go on. I didn't notice the charred bark at the time, but with so many blackened tree trunks in the area, that's understandable. However, the fact that this was actually a lightning strike was recognisesd by a friend who saw my photo on facebook. Cheers to you, Brian Tynan.
Spotted on Jun 20, 2018
Submitted on Jun 21, 2020
9 Comments
Thanks for the comments. It was a bizarre thing at the time, and I'm glad the mystery is solved. I've seen things hit by lightning, but never a tree. Yes, Leuba, I'm sure dry storms cause a lot of fires. Fires raged through this area after this spotting was made, so I wonder if the tree survived that?
God Lord! Never seen anything quite like this (just a palm tree in flames once during the rains). Many newspaper reports of lightning strikes ...oh and eight refrigerators conked off in out neighbourhood once, again thanks to a thunderstorm...(not quite the same thing)
But what power unleashed!!! Poor tree.
I've seen a tree getting struck by lightning, not quite as much damage as this, but still makes a good mulch for low growing plants :-)
Great shots Neil. Never seen the effects of lightning on a tree before - it's not hard to see something like this starting fires when everything is crisp dry ( & with oil vapours)
Nice series and great notes Neil.
I guess this is why it's ill-advised to shelter under trees during thunderstorms. I've heard it said, but now can see why. I've seen videos where trees have exploded and were completely destroyed. At least this one survived to tell the tale.
That's fascinating how the electric charge went down tot he groud carving a path through the bark.
When my friend told me what had happened here, I was totally amazed. The tree looked healthy enough, but maybe it survived this only to perish in the bushfires that followed earlier this year? I'll try and locate it on my next bushwalk.
Wow what a find. That's spectacular. Poor tree ;-)