There is a heady, gaseous odour throughout Alice Springs at the moment. One could be forgiven for calling in a tradie to check one's appliances or for blaming last night's boiled cabbage. The smell was even a topic for talkback radio last week. However, there is no need for concern it is just the
acacia cambagei. This tree endemic of Australia is found in semiarid areas throughout various states. It is commonly know as the
gidgee, stinking wattle, or
stinking gidgee. In the dry, red soil areas such as those around Alice Springs it occurs naturally along waterways and in depressions in the soil or, as in this example, as a street planting.
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| It may be stinky, but it's pretty with typical wattle foliage and flowers. |
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On the street near the Alice Springs library.
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We haven't smelt stinking gidgee yet. Looking forward to it, well sort of, we can't resist clocking up a new experience especially if it's one from the natural world.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't a totally unpleasant smell, but unless you know what it is it can be disturbing. It really does smell gassy. I feel lucky to have experienced it.
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