Mac Clark Conservation Reserve

Acacia peuce, or waddywood is one of the rarest and most striking trees of the Australian arid zone. It grows in the Mac Clark (Acacia peuce) Conservation Reserve on a stony windswept plain in one of the driest places in Australia.

Daily maximum temperatures average almost 40C in January. In such a harsh environment only a few shrubs and grasses manage to survive. The Acacia peuce thrives, growing to heights of 17m and living for up to 500 years. One key to the tree's survival is its small spiky needle-like leaves. A small surface area ensures little moisture is lost through the leaves.

Acacia peuce is found in just three places: near Boulia and Birdsville in Queensland, and 40km north of Old Andado Homestead, in the Mac Clark Conservation Reserve. In the first half of this century many of the trees were cut down to build stockyards and shelters, even though the wood is so hard it won't take nails. Mac Clark was a former Andado pastoralist whose interest in the trees led to the declaration of this reserve which bears his name.