Wallaby Apple is a shrub that is often found alongside Cocaine Bush in Poplar Box
woodland. It grows to about 3 metres tall with short, multi-stemmed trunks
to about 100mm diameter. The branches terminate in sharp points but they
aren't too serious.
The specimen pictured here is the biggest I have found on the Highlands although
some of the literature claims they grow to 7 metres tall - if only!!!
I haven't tried eating the Wallaby Apple fruit as I haven't come across any
that is ripe yet - seems to disappear very quickly once ripe so it can't be
too bad to eat! The fruit sometimes grow to about golf-ball size but are
usually a little smaller.
If
you can find a big enough tree to get a workable piece of timber, you
will be amazed how nice this stuff is to work with! It dries very evenly with no cracking
and darkens slightly from its very white beginnings to show some nice
character. It is a joy to turn and machine, slicing with similar qualities
to English Box - even blunt tools can produce the lightest of continuous
shavings. It sands perfectly and finishes the same way. The bowl pictured is
only about 80mm across and was turned from a crotch piece as I only have
small diameter pieces on hand, and even the crotch figure had no cracking in
it at all! Why do the best timbers have to be so hard to get hold of!!!
