Have just got back from my periodic dose of Australiana (and some good exercise), a walk around Hilton Park. Popular with locals who picnic under the trees and walk and jog around the tracks in the park, for me it is popular because it is full of gum trees and wattles. Here they are called eucalyptus and acacias respectively, they bring Australia to Rabat.
It doesn't seem to matter where you go in the world, you will find gum trees: Portugal, Egypt, Chile and Morocco. This Australian stalwart that is found throughout the Australian continent, from the snowy alps to the dry deserts, has a species for almost any global location and climate. They also provide firewood for many struggling peoples of the world.
What I notice most here in Hilton Park, so called because it is next to the Hilton Hotel, is the silence resulting from the absence of birds. The trees may be able to spread throughout the world but the complex ecosystems they support in Australia don't travel.
Oh for some galahs, red-tailed black cockatoos and even a plain old magpie!
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Yes, I remember coming out of the Sahara and seeing gum trees lining the road, and beyond that dry ground, and I felt like I'd been transported. Brought on a wave of homesickness.
My favourite gum tree story (of mine) is landing in LA and talking to an LA-native about the gum trees, and how they reminded me of Australia.
And he said, "Do you have them too?"
I was a bit mystified that he didn't know so told him that that's where his had come from, and he assured me I must be mistaken, and if we had them in Australia, then obviously we had imported them from America. Hmmm.
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