Xantorrea also has other names - yellow tar, "kangaroo tail" or "black skin". The herb tree is endemic to Australia.
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Xantorrhea (Xanthorrhoea), a genus of evergreen monocotyledonous plants of the Xantorrhea family (previously they were combined with liliaceae). 11-12 xerophilous species typical of the dry savannas of Australia. Tree-like forms, sometimes slightly branching, bearing at the top a rosette (or rosettes) of large (up to 1 m long) rigid linear leaves and a skirt of dead leaves. According to the growth form, Xantorrhea is referred to as the so-called herb trees. They are slow-growing but very durable plants. They live up to 600 years.
Xanthorrhea australia has thin, long grass-like leaves. In nature, it grows on the rocky hills of the southwest of Australia. It is called the Australian Grass Tree or Kangaroo Tail. During forest fires, the lower dead leaves are burned, exposing the trunk and covering it with soot. The bunch of leaves at the top resembles a shock of hair. For this, the aborigines of Australia nicknamed Xantorreya black boy (black boy). The same fires stimulate the appearance of a long flower arrow at the top of the trunk, covered with white fragrant inflorescences. The leaves, stems and roots of the plant are edible.
The trunk is not actually made of wood. The leaves secrete a thick resin, which solidifies and forms the trunk. The substance of the trunk does not burn well, but it melts like sealing wax. Inside this, one might say, a plastic pillar is a core of fibers that feed the leaves. The name means "red flow" and comes from the color of the resin secreted by the leaves, which, when solidified, turns black.
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