Corymbia terminalis is a tree native to the Central Australia

Central Australia

Central Australia/Alice Springs Region is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory. The term Central Australia is used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians...

n region, particularly around Alice Springs, as well as in semi-arid areas in Western Australia. Its common name is the bloodwood. Australian Aboriginal people collect bush coconut

Bush coconut

The Bush coconut, is an Australian bush tucker food, often eaten by Aborigines of Central Australia.The bush coconut is in fact a combination of plant and animal; the Cysticoccus pomiformis grows inside the wood of the Corymbia terminalis tree.Bush coconut is called Merne arrkirlpangkwerle in the...

s from this tree, an insect in gall

Gall

Galls or cecidia are outgrowths on the surface of lifeforms caused by invasion by other lifeforms, such as parasites or bacterial infection. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues and can be caused by various parasites, from fungi and bacteria, to insects and mites...

.

Occasionally a bloodwood tree will shed a piece of bark, hence opening a "wound" through which a blood-like sap will flow. The sap flows until it crystallizes, covering up the hole in the bark. Australian Aboriginals collect this substance as bush medicine

Bush medicine

Bush medicine is the term used in Australia by Aboriginal people to describe their traditional medicinal knowledge and practices. The term is often used in conjunction with Bush tucker....

. They add a teaspoon of bloodwood crystals to a cup with boiling hot water and drink it, and it is said to cure the flu and stomach problems.

External links

• Alice Springs Town Council