Thread: Why it's called Red Gum.

I have similar trees on my property; locally they're referred to as "bloodwood" for the same reason

Hmmmmm
Any plans for the timber?
Willy

Willy,
The forked piece in the photo was split up for firewood. The lower main trunk, sawn into one block of 400 mm, two of 300 mm will be used in the garden as steps through a stone wall (swale) soon to be built for storm water management. Any reasonably straight pieces down to about 150 mm dia are cut to 750 -900 mm long for use as metal working blocks. The rest of the wood goes on the firewood heap and the leafy greens go to the tip (where they are supposed to be mulched)
Cheers,
Geoff.

Of course as usual, no photo it didn't happen so I took the camera for a walk. (005) wood heap with metal working stumps, (004) rear view of swale with step block. (003) front view of same. (002) swale with couple of stump seats.
Final two are of the parent Marri which are beautiful big straight trees, maybe a couple of hundred years old?

Chief Tiff, blood wood trees also grow in the Pilbara where I used to live. I wasn't aware of their red gum but they did sometimes suffer from a gall on the leaf which contained a grub which I could never quite force myself to try eating.
Cheers,
Geoff.

On the Discovery Channel only in the last few days (I think) was a program on weird stuff all over the world. One part was in Australia where a tree just felled pumped out thick red sap. It was as if the stump had a human heart and was getting rid of the sap.

I got a 650 diameter Pepper Tree truck 1800 long. I took it off the trailer under the carport with an endless chain. It sat there for a couple of weeks waiting for me to slice it up. When I did get to slice it it had "leaked" about a litre of what could be described as latex.

Producing huge amount of kino in response to the slightest injury seems to be a characteristic of the genus. Our local Spotted gums (C. maculata) can be a downright pest in that respect. I once foolishly parked under a large spotty at the place I was working, & came out in the afternoon to see my car splattered with large red-black gobs of gum. Took half a bottle of metho to get the damn stuff off.

There's a gnarly, twisted, S.G. on the property next door which has some sort of ongoing problem and is oozing (literally) bucketsfull of gum - it looks like something out of a horror movie! Every time I see it I think I ought to offer to fire up the Stihl & put the poor thing out of its misery....

Cheers,

When we first came here we made the same mistake, parked under the trees and got a free paint job.
Cheers,
Geoff

From what i understand marri is the Noongar word for bleeding. Which makes sence if you look under one.