270px, Dean Nicolle and Eucalyptus deanei ">Eucalyptus_deanei.html" ;"title="Dean Nicolle and Eucalyptus deanei">Dean Nicolle and Eucalyptus deanei image:Eucalyptus-20070325-013.jpg">270px, ''Eucalyptus conferruminata'' The Currency Creek Arboretum (CCA; or Currency Creek Arboretum Eucalypt Research Centre) is located in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

near the small town of Currency Creek and south of the state capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. CCA is a specialist

Eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

and research centre, composed solely of Australian native plants. Privately owned and operated, CCA is open by appointment only and does not charge entry fees. Run by volunteers, there is no paid staff.

History

Dr.

Dean Nicolle image:Dean-Nicolle-Deanei.JPG, Dean Nicolle and ''Eucalyptus deanei'' Dean Nicolle (born 1974), is an Australian botanist, arboriculture, arborist and ecologist. He is widely recognised as the leading authority on the genus ''Eucalyptus''. Nicol ...

began looking for land between Mount Compass and Strathalbyn in 1990 to create an arboretum. The specific soil type he was looking for had to be well-drained, limestone-free, and with a neutral or slightly acidic pH. CCA was established in 1992. The site has a Mediterranean climate with annual rainfall. The first seed plantings of 18 eucalypts occurred in 1993. All seed collection points were marked with a GPS location and an herbarium voucher. Using trial and error in choosing planting distance, some trees that were initially planted too close are being replanted.

Collection

The eucalypt collection includes 1,000 species and subspecies, with over 8,000 trees. including ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

'', ''

Angophora ''Angophora'' is a genus of nine species of trees and shrubs in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Endemic to eastern Australia, they differ from other eucalypts in having juvenile and adult leaves arranged in opposite pairs, sepals reduced to projec ...

'' and ''

Corymbia ''Corymbia'', commonly known as bloodwoods, is a genus of about one hundred species of tree that, along with ''Eucalyptus'', '' Angophora'' and several smaller groups, are referred to as eucalypts. Until 1990, corymbias were included in the g ...

''. Each species is grouped in fours.

Research

Research activities includes eucalypt conservation, cultivation,

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

systematics Systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phy ...

, and

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

. Additional research consists of the cut flower industry and

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

production, as well as tree use, such as firewood, shade, and

windbreak A windbreak (shelterbelt) is a planting usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted in hedgerows around the ed ...

References

{{Botanic gardens and arboreta in South Australia Arboreta in Australia Research organisations in Australia 1992 establishments in Australia Gardens in South Australia

History

Collection

Research

See also

References