Allocasuarina luehmannii (Buloke), Australia

Recorded by Kim V. Goldsmith, Dubbo NSW. 13 April 2025. Recordings made using contact mics, a geophone, and a pair of ultrasonic omnis in one session in early autumn. This site is about 5km from the edge of a regional city and airport.

Bulokes beside a road in an area of remnant Grey Box, White Box and Buloke woodland, south-west of Dubbo NSW Australia. Image: Kim V. Goldsmith

Poetically called ‘wind harps’ for the whispering sound of wind passing through their leafless branches, Bulokes are endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a dioecious tree, with leaves reduced to scales in whorls of ten to fourteen, and the mature fruiting cones that are 5–12 mm long, containing winged seeds. The wood is extremely hard and the timber is often used to make handles for implements—also a traditional use of the tree.

In the Wimmera (Victoria), it’s an important food resource for the endangered southeastern subspecies of the red-tailed black cockatoo.