Saturday, September 10, 2011

The Vet's Grasstree - an update

Xanthorrhoea glauca subsp. glauca
FAMILY: XANTHORRHOEACEAE
Two years ago, I wrote about this lovely grasstree, one of Toowoomba's most remarkable plants, which grows in the grounds of the veterinary surgery on the corner of West and Herries Streets, in Toowoomba.

I had been told that it had been transplanted there, on a bullock dray, as a large tree - and also that its estimated age was 1500 years.
An interesting story, but quite wrong!
I was delighted to be contacted this week by a member of the family of Mr Ray Lamb, the man who did the transplanting. She had stumbled across my blogsite while researching her own family history.
So I was able to contact him and get the true story - and it turns out that not a single bullock was involved!
For the corrected story, see my article of September 2009
The encouraging thing about it, for those who'd like to grow a tree like this for themselves, is that with good care, you too may be able to produce a tree like this within your own lifetime.
(And if you're in Toowoomba for the Carnival of Flowers, don't miss seeing this lovely plant.)

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