Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Big Moreton Bay Fig Tree in Brisbane

I arrived in Brisbane during the early afternoon. Terry Martin fetched me from the airport and took me to see this enormous Moreton Bay Fig grove in a local park before we went to his house. These trees are amazing! I'll post pics and you can get an idea of the scale.


As the branches grow out from the trunk they put out aerial root shoots that grow down to the ground. These then become woody and act as support posts for the branches.


Here's another view from a different angle.


I'm in there for scale. It's amazing to stand among these roots and branches.


A park bench in the process of being assimilated. If you could see this in time lapse photography it would look like the bench is being consumed.


I don't think I'll sit there for very long - you never know about plants. They can be tricky sometimes.


Parrots like these old trees. This one was watching me watch it.


Kids like to explore these trees, too. It's like climbing around in a big fort. The playground here is built all around and through the trees.


Here's a photo showing the various stages of aerial root development.

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