An Australian community for everything from your backyard to beyond the black stump.
Topics may include Aussie plants and animals, environmental, farming, energy, and climate news and stories (mostly Aus specific), etc. New related communities will be split off when required, think like subcommunities that exist on that other platform.
Trigger Warning: Community contains mostly bad environmental news (not by choice!). Community may also feature stories about animal agriculture and/or meat. Until tagging is available, please be aware and click accordingly.
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/c/Aussie Environment acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present.
TD;LR... No
Speaking as a risk arborist, widow makers in the UK are Oaks. Widow makers in the US are Pines. Euc's are widow makers in Australia because they are by far the most dominant genus, and therefore the most likely to be causing injury or death just because there are more of them than want other genus.
The article is talking about the origin of the word, which has maligned Eucalypts unfairly for a long time.
Sudden limb failure may be a phenomenon but it's not as common (or as dangerous) as the term "widowmaker" and the general understanding of the public seem to think. Sure, it does happen and plenty of people have been harmed or killed but as a well-managed risk, it's low compared to other things.
The article isn't so much about risk as it is tall tales.
Source: Aussie council arborist.
I've only heard the term in the context of camping. It's considered a bad idea to pitch a tent under the shade of one of these. And frankly, despite their reputation being a bit overblown, I'm still not going to fall for the temptation of pitching a tent under one of these trees.
And depending on the time of year and with a good VTA (visual tree assessment) based on years of experience, I would pitch a tent with relative confidence. It was our job to write reports with some confidence when people's lives were on the line.
A majority of the issues are the lack of reporting, management, and good visual or aerial assessment.
Don't coconuts kill a bunch of people?
Edit: also have you got any good risky tree stories?
never heard them referred to as that, but then again this seems like a country term and I wouldn’t call the outer suburbs of Brisbane exactly country…
TL;DR.... No
Edit.... Replied to the wrong comment