Stringybarks are common in Kakadu’s lowland eucalypt and savanna woodlands, as well as beside the park’s roads.

They bloom in Wurrkeng (June – August), producing gorgeous flowers with lots of creamy-white stamens.

Culture

Stringybarks are a calendar tree for Bininj because their flowers indicate the start of the dry season.

The bark is used for canoes and bark painting, while the wood is made into spears, digging sticks, woomeras, paddles and fighting sticks. Hollow stringybark branches and trunks are used for didgeridoos and coffins.

Bininj also make an infusion from this tree to treat headaches, birth pain and colds and to help new mothers with lactation.

Other names

• Scientific name: Eucalyptus tetrodonta