Crow’s Ash or Australian Teak

Crow’s Ash or Australian Teak (Flindersia australis) grows on the east coast of Queensland and NSW and can reach 40 metres, an attractive shade tree planted in parks and gardens.

A member of the Rutaceae Family and the Flindersia Genus of 15 species was named after navigator, Matthew Flinders, the leader of the expedition that first collected the plants. The wood is golden/yellow and very heavy (950kg/m3), interlocked grain, greasy and extremely durable. Used extensively for flooring, railway sleepers and fencing.

In the greater Ipswich area Crow’s Ash and other rain forest trees including Red Cedar, Hoop Pine, Brown Pine, Rosewood and Black Bean can still be found, proving the area looked quite different to what we see now. All were logged heavily in the Rosewood Scrub area which includes Haigslea, Marburg, Minden and Rosewood.

The largest Crow’s Ash tree (31m high and 4.55m in circumference) in the Ipswich area is located near the World’s End Pocket, Pine Mountain. All these previous rainforest areas are now classified as Dry Rainforests. Climate change is likely to increasingly affect our moister rainforest types in SEQ with many of the moisture dependent plants becoming stressed during long dry periods and possibly facing local extinctions.

This is where many species of dry tolerant plants found in dry rainforests will be most likely to replace them and help the less drought resistant rainforests to continue to survive. Once established, many dry rainforest plants are more likely to cope with lowering annual rainfall and warmer temperatures as a result of climate change. 

The turned bowl was done recently from the salvaged wood of a fallen tree in Haigslea in Ipswich about 8 years ago. The photo of a very old Crow’s Ash fence post shows the resilience of the wood. While the wood is visually appealing, this species is not easy to work with, which limits the applications it can be used for. Crow’s ash is quite greasy which means it is hard to glue and nail but still a popular craft wood.