Aka the grass tree and the balga, the Xanthorrhoea is a strange plant.
Looks like this:
You can wander round acres of them up in the hills and some of them, I swear, have almost-square-sectioned leaves.I was very sad when my three started to die but then read in the Oz that transplanted Xanths usually only last 3-4 years.
They carry their nutrients in their trunks and, when that runs out, it's farewell cruel world and hello balga-heaven.
So I'm not feeling so bad.
In fact, when he last visited, Jimmy Barker -- on-and-off mate and drummer from hell (used to play in the same band with him for a while) -- said "black boys" (he's allowed to call them that) were, and I quote again, "bad shit".
He should know, his family's been down here since before humans crawled into Europe.
Xanths are believed to shelter malicious spirits who cause all sorts of random misfortune.
Strange thing is that my three all died within a month of each other and, after that, I stopped being accident-prone.
Just routine stuff like falling into rose bushes, being sconned by flying wood chips, and walking into glass cupboard doors.
Though that great unsung and unsinging duo, Messrs Cooper and Swan, may have had something to do with that and the poor old Xanth may not be at all to blame.
Still, they do smell great from the resin they emit when burning.
Sledge
