Published: 25 February 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
I SET OFF ON A brief pilgrimage and Tu Bishvat, which was celebrated last week, was a good excuse for it. I encountered a thrilling sight. The gigantic eucalyptus camaldulensis – also known as the river red gum – that looms in a small valley south of Moshav Tlamim in the western Negev. It’s about 30 meters high, its trunk is seven meters in circumference and its uppermost part is particularly impressive: extremely broad and laden with branches. Its immense, solitary silhouette is conspicuous from afar.
Trying to reach the tree by car is a futile endeavour; one must necessarily take a short walk there, fifteen minutes long. Along the muddy path is an almond tree, now in blossoming show-off mode. It’s worthwhile approaching the huge eucalyptus slowly, in order to take in its dimensions. Afterward the thing to do is to sit under it for a while; indeed, a great feeling of tranquillity descends upon those who linger in its shade.
FULL STORY The giant of the Negev: The battle over Israel's eucalyptus trees (Haaretz)
Photo: Eucalyptus tree at Moshav Tlamim (Moshe Gilad)
