The Currency Creek Arboretum (CCA; or Currency Creek Arboretum Eucalypt Research Centre) is located in South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 near the geographical feature and small town of Currency Creek

Currency Creek, South Australia

Currency Creek is a small town located on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula about 6 km north of Goolwa. The Currency Creek area was initially explored by Charles Sturt in the late 1820s, with the area being officially named in 1837 after the whaling boat Currency Lass...

, up from the mouth of the Murray River

Murray River

The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...

 at Goolwa

Goolwa, South Australia

Goolwa is a historic river port on the Murray River near the Murray Mouth in South Australia, and joined by a bridge to Hindmarsh Island. The name "Goolwa" means "elbow" in Ngarrindjeri, the local Aboriginal language....

, and south of Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

. CCA is a 32 hectares (79 acre) specialist Eucalypt

Eucalypt

Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...

 arboretum

Arboretum

An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...

 and research centre, comprised solely of Australian native plants

Flora of Australia

The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 20,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens...

.

Privately owned and operated, CCA is open by appointment only and does not charge entry fees. Run by volunteers, there is no paid staff.

History

Dr. Dean Nicolle began looking for land between Mount Compass

Mount Compass, South Australia

Mount Compass is a town in the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the A13 south of Adelaide, and North of Victor Harbor. It is a small community, traditionally supported by farming. Both market gardens and dairy have proved lucrative in the area...

 and Strathalbyn

Strathalbyn, South Australia

Strathalbyn is a town in South Australia, in the Alexandrina Council. The town has a population of 3894 people.-History and Culture:The town was founded in 1839. Strathalbyn was once connected by broad gauge horse tram to Goolwa and Victor Harbor from 1869, and the line was extended to Mount Barker...

 in 1990 to create an arboretum. The specific soil type he was looking for had to be well-drained, limestone-free, and with a neutral or slightly acidic pH. CCA was established in 1992. The site has a Mediterranean climate with 450 mm (17.7 in) annual rainfall.

The first seed plantings of 18 eucalypts occurred in 1993. All seed collection points were marked with a GPS location and an herbarium voucher. Using trial and error in choosing planting distance, some trees that were initially planted too close are being replanted.

Collection

The eucalypt collection includes 1,000 species and subspecies, with over 8,000 trees. including Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

, Angophora

Angophora

Angophora is a genus of ten species of trees or large shrubs in the myrtle family , native to eastern Australia. It is closely related to Corymbia and Eucalyptus, and all three are often referred to as "eucalypts". The differences are that Angophora have opposite leaves rather than alternate, and...

and Corymbia

Corymbia

Corymbia is a genus of about 113 species of tree that were classified as Eucalyptus species until the mid-1990s. It includes the bloodwoods, ghost gums and spotted gums. The bloodwoods had been recognised as a distinct group within the large and diverse Eucalyptus genus since 1867...

. Each species is grouped in fours.

Research

Research activities includes eucalypt conservation, cultivation, ecology, physiology, systematics, and taxonomy. Additional research consists of the cut flower industry

Floriculture

Floriculture, or flower farming, is a discipline of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry...

 and honey

Honey

Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...

 production, as well as tree use, such as firewood, shade, and windbreak

Windbreak

A windbreak or shelterbelt is a plantation usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted around the edges of fields on farms. If designed properly, windbreaks around a...

s.