The Australian Christmas Tree

Growing up in the Northern Hemisphere, a Xmas tree was a dull green pine tree adorned with man-made decorations. In the Southwest of Western Australia a different Xmas tree is found in the baking hot Southern Summer.

Known as Moodjar by the indigenous people of the Southwest, the white settlers of the area referred to it as the Xmas tree on account of the peak flowering period being the month of December (Noongar season of birak.) This tree needs no decorations, itself a brilliant blaze of orange flowers at this time of the year.

It is a worrying omen when this tree flowers early as it has in the SouthWest in 2023, indicating an early and long bushfire season, evidenced by the devastating fires in NorthEastern Perth in November with the loss of 18 homes.

West Australian Christmas Tree (Nuytsia floribunda.)

A true endemic of Southwest Australia it is found in a line from Geraldton in the North to Esperance in the Southeast. The flowering period depends on latitude. It begins flowering in October in the Northern Sandplains, Perth in November and the SouthWest / South Coast in December where it flowers into January.

Despite the delightful appearance of the bloom of this tree it hides a darker secret. It is an obligate root hemiparasite, so while it photosynthesizes it also obtains water and nutrients from surrounding host trees via a haustorium.

The haustorium is a lateral tap root which wraps around and cuts into the root of a host plant. What is remarkable about the haustoria of the Xmas Tree is that it’s the longest of all parasitic plants reaching over an impressive 100m.

The unfortunate hosts are many, and include the local Jarrah and Marri Eucalypts, Acacias and Banksias. It has even been known to attach to communication cables in error, with disastrous results for the human population!

The photograph below demonstrates the haustoria length with the nearest local host trees being a considerable distance away.

West Australian Christmas Tree or Moodjar.

The indigenous Noongar people know the Moodjar Tree by a host of other names. Mooja, Moojarr, Modjar, Mutyal, Muja (this last name gives a clue to the presence of the tree in the sandy soils of the site of the coal powered station East of Collie ie Muja Power Station.)

Names possibly originate from mootcha the indigenous term for forbidden, for the Moodjar is a sacred tree to the Noongar people. A place for the spirits of the dead to camp on the way to the land of the ancestors across the ocean. As such the shady canopy is not used for shelter, and while the gum and blossom of Acacias, Banksias and Hakeas were used for sustenance, this tree was left well alone.

In a case of sad cultural faux pas a SouthWest distilling company used the blossom of the sacred Moodjar to infuse gin without consulting local indigenous people. While the company apologised and ceased production it is insightful that many white settlers remain ignorant of the customs of the first nations people of Western Australia.

Nuytsia floribunda Blossom.

Red of course is the colour of Xmas in Western culture. It’s the colour of Father Xmas / Santa Claus. Holly berries are red and it’s also the colour of the nose of Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer!

In Western Australia it is the colour of the blooms of one of our endemic eucaplypts, Corymbia ficifolia, the red-flowering gum.

Corymbia ficifolia.

This magnificent flowering tree is an inhabitant of Western Australia’s South Coast between Walpole and the Stirling Range. In common with the Moodjar (West Australian Christmas Tree.) It flowers during December.

It is a favourite ornamental tree planted by Perth councils around the suburbs and provides an impressive bloom around Xmas.

Corymbia ficifolia in flower.

Wherever you are in the world. Christian or non-christian, Southern Hemishere or Northern Hemisphere. Thank you for following QuollingAround. Merry Christmas and all the best for 2024.

Jimmy Lamb

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