2023 | Santa Barbara
These trees don’t have much of a root structure. Evolved in Australia, they are really large weeds, fast-growing in drier climates, burning off in wlidfires every twenty-five years or so.
Their quick growth in dryness was considered an advantage, and they were planted up and down the California coast in hopes that they would provide quick timber for railroad ties and other construction projects. But the brittle wood was troublesome to cut and work, and many have survived to a dangerous old age. Insensitive paving causing hard-surface runoff and heavy pressure on their roots leaves them narrow chances of survival.