I was hiking out behind NCTAMS (waaaaaay out beyond Whitmore Village)
and found a particular tree. I want to know more about this tree, as
it strikes me as very peculiar.

The bark on the young trees is ridged, but not very rough, and is
fairly solid with slight fuzz or threads. Not papery, smooth or
mottled. Bark color is a uniform tan on younger trees.

Older trees have VERY gnarled bark, often black or very dark,
especially around damaged areas.

Trunk on younger trees is tall and straight, forking into a crown near
the top. Older trees have massive trunks and large crowns. I was
unable to see the exact shape of the leaves, as the crown was very
dense and concealed by other trees. I *think* they are elongate, like
eucalyptus.

The reason this tree is so interesting to me is the sap. It looks
*exactly* like blood. The sap seems to dry to a ruby-red crystalline
substance or a black mass. The ground beneath injured areas on the
tree is covered with black sap and dried resin.

Here's where I found them.

I've searched the net and research suggests that it's the "Dragon's
Blood" tree. I dunno...Dragonsblood is from South America, so unless
it was imported...

Anyone have any ideas?

=======O ==[IonOtter, LogOut]