Just looking at some photos Angela Hedley sent in, of this Moreton Bay Fig Tree …

Just looking at some photos Angela Hedley sent in, of this Moreton Bay Fig Tree in the City Botanic Gardens (well, half in, half out to be precise). The plaque attached states that it was planted in 1862, soon to celebrate its 160th birthday!! These trees, sometime called the Giant Banyan (Ficus macrophylla) can live for hundreds of years and cover huge areas, which makes them the largest living single organisms on Earth. I was surprised to learn however, that they actually start out life as a parasite, nestling in the forks of another tree’s branches, until its strangling roots completely engulf its unfortunate host!