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Budgeroo
(Lysicarpus angustifolious)
Also known as: Tom Russell's mahogany, Mountain mahogany, Mountain
oak, Woollybutt, Brown Hazelwood
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My mate, Tom Russell, thinks it's pretty cool that this tree also bears his name! Further
south, Budgeroo grows up to 25 metres high and I have heard of butt's
over 2 metres in diameter but the largest I have seen up this way is
about 600mm. The trees pictured here can be found in the public park at Duaringa. There
are extensive stands of Budgeroo which can be seen along the road all the way
from Duaringa to Woorabinda. There is also a small stand near Norwich Park to the North,
another at the top of the Carnarvon escarpment on the way South to Injune, another
larger one west of Alpha and a very small stand just out of Emerald.
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Budgeroo grows to about 12 metres, generally in
low-phosphate,sandy soil resulting in timber that is fairly hard on tools. The tree itself has to be my favorites,
not just for it's timber, but the tree has an ominous, eerie look
about it that I find haunting. Maybe that's the reason the aborigines used the
very fibrous bark to wrap their dead in.
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Budgeroo has got to be one of my favourite timbers to work with. It
turns very well, green or dry, with little or no tear-out. It sands extremely
well and takes a really nice finish with wax or oil. In board form, Budgeroo is
very stable, the drawback is the way it splits while drying in log form. It
doesn't just crack from the sap to the heart but takes a few detours along the
way around the growth rings, rendering most of the log useless.
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