Balga, Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea preissii) resin

Scientific name: Xanthorrhoea preissii
Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae
Origin: West Australia
Common name: Balga – Black Boy (offensive) – Grass Tree

All Xanthorrhoea species grow very slowly, but they are also very long-lived; some elderly specimens are among the oldest living plants in the world. They live for hundreds of years, some have been found to be up to 600 years old. A plant with a one meter long trunk could already be 100 years old !!!

The xanthorrhoea plants are also known as Balga Grass Plants. ‘Balga’ is the aboriginal word for the black boy and for many years the plant has been affectionately known as “Black Boy”. It is thought that the aborigines called the Balga plants because after a forest fire that had devastated the earth, the blackened trunk of the Xanthorrhoea would have been revealed under the burnt lower leaves and would have resembled a child like a black figure. Others believe that the plant, with its trunk of blackened bush and a long spike of flowers, resembles an aboriginal boy who wields a spear. In any case, over the years, it is considered an extremely racist name and is thought to be very offensive to the original keepers of the earth, so the plants are more commonly known as Grass Tree.

Our collection is always made in a traditional way by the aborigines, respecting the culture and protection of the environment.

Genus of approximately 30 flowering plants endemic to Australia, which have traditionally been harvested by Koori people for a variety of uses, including the provision of food, drink, and materials utilised in the manufacture of tools and weapons.

As a food source, the Xanthorrhoea provides edible roots and the flower stem is laden with nectar, which can be soaked in water to produce a sweet drink.