Shackle Road Self Guided Drive - Stop 3 - SA

Stop 3 - Objects of fierce competition.
The tall trees in this area are sugar gums (Eucalyptus cladocalyx). The common name refers to a sugar compound present in the leaves of young trees giving them a sweet taste. Sugar gums are easily recognised by the unique clumping of adult foliage at the ends of the branches, which gives a storied umbrella effect. Look for these trees as you continue your journey.
The tall, gnarled trunks provide many hollows for which competition is fierce.
Common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecular) make a home here, while birds such as galahs (Cacatua roseicapilla), rainbow lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus) and crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans) use these hollows when nesting.
On Kangaroo Island, sugar gums are essential nesting trees for the threatened glossy black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus). The trunks of their nesting trees are collared with sheets of iron to prevent possums from climbing up and taking over the nesting hollows. Feral bees create extra pressure for these hollows as they establish
their hives there.
Many species of orchids (which flower in late winter and spring) occur under these trees. A careful, observant walk will spot these beautiful delicate plants.
The pale green bush, which is a common understorey to the sugar gum trees at
this stop, is wallaby bush (Choretrum glomeratum var. glomeratum). This plant belongs to the same family as the native cherry referred to at Stop 2 and is another parasitic feeder. Tammar wallabies (Macropus eugenii) find the green berries extremely palatable, hence the common name for this plant. If you drive through this area after dark you may be lucky enough to see tammar wallabies nibbling delicately on these plants.