Australian Tree Trunk Photo No. 6

(Click image to enlarge)

I always find the trunks of eucalyptus trees interesting. In 2017 I decided to photograph a few of them up close as abstracts. In 2025 I have added this sixth photograph to the series, which now contains six photographs. The others can be found at  1  2  3  4  5.

The spotted gum is a eucalyptus specie, all of which are generically referred to as gum trees. This one is roughly 1 meter (3.3 feet) in diameter. The nice thing about spotted gum trees is that they do not spread fire as quickly as some other species. This is because they shed bark yearly like all eucalyptus species, but they do so in small irregular patches that are very roughly an inch to 8 inches across.

Most other species shed bark in long thin strips that can be many meters long. They hang from the trunks and all of the shorter trees and plants in the forest. Since they burn easily they quickly wick fire up into the canopy. The fire's updraft sends the burning embers up to 40km (25 miles!!) ahead of of the fire's front, which itself travels at up to 25 km/h (16 mph). Since these trees are full of flammable oils the fires they create are incredibly intense. The smaller patches of bark from the spotted gum tree lay on the ground like leaves and do not spread fire as quickly. These oils also create a beautiful smell in the forest when the air is damp.