Eucalyptus sideroxylon (Mugga Ironbark), Australia

Recorded by Kim V. Goldsmith, June 2023. The tree is located on a western-facing slope on a ridge to the south-west of Dubbo. Recordings were made using contact microphones on the trunk and leaves, and a geophone at the base of the tree. The tree hasn’t fared well in the droughts of the past 20 years.

*Mugga Ironbark standing tall amongst the pine trees on the outskirts of Dubbo, New South Wales.*

Found on poorer soils from Queensland to Victoria, mainly in dry sclerophyll forest and woodland. Mugga Ironbark grow up to 35 metres high. The distinctive bark is persistent and deep red-brown to brown-black in colour. Foliage is dull, greyish-green in colour and is used for extraction of volatile oils.

Flowers are normally well displayed and are usually white. However, pink and red flowering forms are fairly common with both recognised varieties.

It has very hard wood has been used for heavy construction and railway sleepers.

The Elder

My hand presses into the familiar gnarly armour of a trunk reaching twenty metres above me. Sharp edges and sandpaper-like surfaces imprint my skin. Her girth measures four arm spans. From a short distance, the spine of the Mugga ironbark appears a rich, dark red-black, when, in fact, deep wrinkles hide a kaleidoscope of creams, reds, amber and light brown – furrows home to a microcosm of small creatures taking refuge beneath a sparse canopy of soft blue-grey. Most seasons, she still produces creamy white flowers in spring, suckling nectar-feeding bees, bats and birds. This tree is now an elder, witness to more than a double century of change.

Kim V. Goldsmith, 2023

Find more of Kim V. Goldsmith’s work online here and here