"Karin Goihl / Daniel Fahey" (one of the other of 'em, anyway) writes:
>To those of you who have been writing about Redwoods lately; why not look
>them up in an encyclopedia for info and ideas.
Hey, maybe *you* could take your own advice and look up Eucalypts too...
>I am surprised at anyone, espescially Sandy,imagining that any Eucalyptus
>tree could be considered large when regarding Redwoods. I didn`t know
>that Eucalypts are smaller in Australia.
...and then you would find out there are in fact over 500 recorded species of eucalypt or gum tree, ranging from the tall forest giants such as the Mountain Ash (50-115+ meters) to the small, stunted and shrubby Mallee (2 meters). As the dominant tree species in Australia, eucalypts of various shapes and sizes grow in almost every environment except the very arid deserts of the inland and the pure tropical rainforests of the north.
>I`ve been all up and down California and seen a lot of Eucs.
Hmm, what you actually saw were a lot of the *same* of just one or two species, (sugar and box gums, I think) imported from Australia to California (and similar arid regions around the world) for conservation purposes. Come to my backyard and you'll see more differing species of eucalypt than you would going 'up and down' the whole of California.
>I`ve also seen Redwoods. I`ve seen massive Sequoias and taller Coast
>Redwoods. Eucs are big, but tiny compared to Redwoods. The biggest Euc is
>still just a big tree. The bigger Redwoods are in another class.
Well, I've seen 'em too, and I think you're being a touch hyperbolic here, mate. As I noted in an earlier post, one form of eucalypt grow up to 115 meters in height (second only to your Redwoods), with the tallest on record at 130m. You have based your arguments about eucalypts after seeing just one or two examples, something like claiming housecats are bigger than dogs only having ever seen Chihuahuas and miniature poodles.
>All older Redwoods have survived several large fires and are severely
>charred.
At last, I introduce the Gloranthan content! Seeing this reminds me that a number of eucalypt species will not germinate until a forest fire has scorched them. In the case of the Mountain Ash, this is because a fire opens the canopy and gives the seedlings sufficient light to grow, racing with each other to see who'll climb the highest and claim the opening. In the case of desert gums, the resultant ash fertilises the poor soil and gives the seedlings suffienct nourishment to grow. Now, in Glorantha, perhaps we have a huge forest fire sweeping through the bush. The human settlers who live
at the forest edge rush out to fight it before it burns their homes, and are shocked to discover the local Aldryami are actually helping the fire *spread*, rather than the reverse, as would be expected. Some even immolate themselves. What gives? The PCs have to find out before the next blaze. (It's the elves buring off, helping to rejuvenate the forest and indulging in a spot of mating - "Come on baby, light my fire!")
Cheers
MOB
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