Grass-Tree / Xanthorrhoea australis

HEIGHT up to 6 ft (2 m)
TYPE Evergreen
OCCURRENCE Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania)

Grass-trees are unique to the Australian bush. They are very slow-growing and can survive for many hundreds of years. Some plants may branch and have two or more heads, unlike the black gin, which has only one. The tree flowers in spring, blooming prolifically after a bush-fire. Grass-trees were a staple plant for the Aboriginals, providing food, drink, fiber, and materials for making implements and weapons. They are now valued as garden specimens. BARK Thick, corky, covered with leaf bases. LEAF Long, narrow, green, crowded at the top of the trunk. FLOWER Very small, clustered together, in tall, straight, cylindrical spikes that arise from the leaves, with six white or cream petals, and white stamens; they contain copious amounts of nectar. FRUIT Capsule, with hard, black seeds.

Quiver Tree / Aloe dichotoma

HEIGHT up to 25 ft (8 m)
TYPE Evergreen
OCCURRENCE S. Namibia, N.W. South Africa

The branches of this desert species repeatedly divide into two, which explains its name “dichotoma” (forked). The name “quiver tree” comes from the lightweight branches, which can be easily hollowed out and were once used by the hunters of the San tribe in southern Africa as quivers. The tree has a rounded crown topped with rosettes of leaves. The bark and fleshy leaves can store water. BARK Pale brown, corky and smooth, with large plates that peel off. LEAF Graygreen, narrow, pointed, with triangulartoothed margins. FLOWER Bright yellow, nectar-filled, up to 11⁄4 in (3 cm) long, on branched spikes. FRUIT Smooth, shiny capsule with narrow seeds.