The spooky season is upon us and, while Halloween is not a longstanding tradition here down under, we love treats, dressing up and telling ghost stories. Halloween is here to stay, so why not make it a truly Australian festival?

If you’ve ever caught sight of an owl roosting in an old, hollowed-out eucalypt or the silhouette of twisted gum branches reaching like fingers across the moon and felt a touch of mystery and magic, then consider the haunting side of Australia’s beloved trees:

If I ask you to picture Australia’s ghost gums, you’ll likely conjure up sunny images of bone-white tree trunks set against rich red rock escarpments, such as in Albert Namatjira’s beloved paintings. But catch them at night under a full moon to see their full, ghostly glory! Their branches become a skeletal spectre in the desert, their stark trunks luminescent apparitions.

Named after their ghostly white bark, a number of ghost gum species are widespread in central Australia. Eucalyptus aparrerinja is probably the most recognisable species (although its taxonomy is a live issue),........

© The Guardian