Coolibah Burl

(Eucalyptus microtheca)

Australia

This tall tree, featured in the song, "Waltzing Matilda", produces one of the hardest and strongest timbers in the world. This species is widely distributed over Northern Australia, commonly found along rivers and heavy soils of flood plains.

Coolibah (pronounced Cool-a-bah) is also referred to as Flooded Box, and Western Coolibah.

This species is exceptional in that it grows throughout a very large area of Australia, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, excluding Victoria and Tasmania. In these areas it prefers to inhabit seasonally flooded streambanks and riverbeds. It has bark that can be smooth with white or gray coloration or rough and fibrous with gray to gray-black coloration. It has been grown in the Southwestern United States for some time, including arid regions that can get quite cold.