The Stegosaurus of the Plant Kingdom: The Grass Tree

Grass trees are the heart of my family’s farm. 

When we first met, it did a pirouette. 

It’s quite normal that they would dance all day. 

The tree swayed shyly in the summer wind. 

We’ve had many as they last 600 years. 

They look like a puffball that is a parakeet. 

The spines hit the window, rapa tap tap. 

It’s so spiky it could stop a kangaroo.

If you get inside the spines feel cosy. 

It makes a calming aura like diffusers 

Its sap smells so good, it was used as incense. 

We took the tree and threw it in the bonfire. WOOSH! 

The fire smelled nicer, sizzled and spiked out. 

When the sap is added to water it tastes nicely. 

It feels and taste like some honey. 

And that’s the tale of the grass tree. 

But what really is a grass tree? 

It isn’t a grass nor is it a tree,

Its bark is actually pressed leaves.