Sunday, October 25, 2009

Gumnuts - Alissa Duke

These are some gumnuts that I picked up while walking with friends in their leafy suburb in Melbourne. Unfortunately I have no idea what type of gum tree it was from.


4 comments:

  1. Curious little things these are - I'm in the middle of the USA and have never seen these! Are gum trees eucalyptus? In California, on the west coast I've seen eucalyptus (don't know the variety) seeds or nuts, but they're very different from these!

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  2. Hi Jeanette, Yes, Gum trees are eucalyptus . There are more than 700 species of Eucalyptus, mostly native to Australia, so the variety of flowers or fruit (capsules or "gumnuts) is enormous. I remember seeing eucalyptus on a holiday in California and it felt like I was in Australia (except driving on the other side of the road). I found out that in the 1850s, Eucalyptus trees were introduced to California by Australians during the California Gold Rush. Sorry about that everyone, as I know they cause great problems.

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  3. Excellent observation and detailed painting...Linda

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  4. I managed to collect more than ten different kinds of eucalyptus fruits in the Claremont, CA area (east of LA) many years ago. They come in a lot of fascinating shapes. I keep them in a can and open it up sometimes for a giant whiff of eucalyptus!

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