100 years old trees at the Botanic Gardens Preview

Planted in 1895, by the first Rockhampton Botanic Gardens curator, James Scott Edgar; 4 trees planted; 1 died early.

Word ‘Banyan’ means ‘merchant’, and the tree actually derives its name from Hindu merchants (Banians) who conducted their business under the shade of the tree.

The tree begins its life as an epiphyte – a plant that germinates and grows in a crevice on a host plant after a seed has been deposited there in bird droppings – as the plant grows, it sends aerial roots to the ground to anchor itself and begins feeding. Eventually, the host tree will die leaving the Banyan to stand on its own.

A mature Banyan tree can reach a height of 30m., and have a diameter as much as 200m.

The largest specimen known is on the island of Sri Lanka, having 350 large trunks and over 3000 small ones.

The Great Banyan Tree is over 250 years old and covers about 1.45 ha. of land (3.5 acres) in Kolkata (Calcutta), making it the widest tree in the world – it has 2800 aerial roots, a main trunk of 15.7m diam. and a 330-metre-long road was constructed around the tree so that visitors could drive around the circumference, but the Great Banyan continues to spread beyond, growing wider with each passing year. Currently, it is already over 450-metres in circumference.

The pollinator of Banyan seed is the tiny Fig Wasp. The fruit has a small hole; just big enough for the Fig Wasp to enter, where it lays its eggs and, in doing so, brushes pollen from the male flowers to the female seeds. Pollinated seeds are dispersed by birds that ingest the fruit, then pass the seed via their droppings.

The Banyan Fig is also host to a tiny insect parasite called a ‘Lac’ which secretes a dark brown resin completely encrusting the host; this resin is used to make ‘Shellac’, used as a varnish in French polishing of furniture.

The bark is used to make paper and the milky sap contains latex, used to make rubber.

The wood of the trunk and branches are too brittle for general construction work, however it is suitable for making door panels, furniture and wooden boxes.

Legend has it, ‘Alexander the Great ‘camped his army of 7000 men under the canopy of a ‘Banyan’.

The Banyan Fig has colorful fictional and religious associations:

• In the 18th century novel written by Daniel Defoe, ‘Robinson Crusoe’ built his home in a Banyan Fig.
• In the Hindu religion, the leaf of the Banyan is said to be the place of the God Krishna, who, after consuming the universe turned himself into a child so small he could hide inside a Banyan leaf.
• In Buddhism, Buddha is believed to have gained enlightenment while meditating under a Banyan Fig.
• All parts of the Banyan are used medicinally by the Indian people to treat a wide variety of ailments including rheumatism, toothache, sores, ulcers, bruises, stomach complaints and bone fractures.

The Canary Island Date Palms were originally planted in 1924 by the second gardens curator, Richard Simmons to encircle the Cenotaph. In 1953, the third gardens curator, Mr George Simmons, planted the palms along either side of the Spencer Street, which now provides a grand entrance to the Gardens. Sadly in February, 2015, Cyclone Marcia caused major damage to several palms and they required replacement so the palms you see today are not over 100 years old.

The planting of the palms in a circular formation around the cenotaph forms a sun-dial which indicates the time of day by the casting of the cenotaph’s shadow which can be read in reverse to a normal clock. The palms form the hourly marks of the clock and the cenotaph shadow indicates the time.

The Canary Island Date Palms can reach a maximum height of 40m, displaying clusters of cream-colored, bowl-shaped flowers protruding from beneath the fronds. Male and female flowers are produced on separate plants, with the brownish-orange fruits on clusters, resembling small dates. The palm does produce edible dates but they're so small and their flesh is so thin that few bother to eat them.

This palm is typically cultivated in wet-winter or Mediterranean climates, but also in wet-summer or humid subtropical climates like eastern Australia and the southeastern United States. The palm is easily recognized by its crown of leaves and trunk characteristics and is prized as a fine landscape tree in the western world, being a slow-growing, feature palm species that tolerates cold conditions. In New Zealand, however, this palm has proven to be invasive of natural forests and is considered a weed.

The garden’s first curator, James Edgar originally planted this row of Tamarinds to form the eastern boundary of the Gardens, until extra land was added in the mid 1960’s; providing a division between the Japanese Gardens Lawn and the Cenotaph Lawn areas.

Although the origin of this species is not fully resolved, it is thought to originate in tropical Africa, but has been an ancient introduction to many countries, and, is now cultivated throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the southern hemisphere.

Habitats include low-altitude woodland and savannah, often associated with termite mounds. Prefers semi-arid areas and wooded grassland, and can also be found growing along stream and river banks. It is a long-lived and beautiful fruiting tree, growing up to 30 metres tall with a dense, spreading crown.

The tree has a feathery foliage on low spreading branches, producing fragrant flowers and is usually evergreen, but becomes deciduous in drier regions.

The seedpod of the tamarind is widely used for food in the tropics, and as an excellent spicy condiment to international cooking. The tree also has a wide range of medicinal applications.

The Peanut Tree is a small tree that grows in the rainforests, vine thickets, and gallery forests of coastal Queensland, the Northern Territory and north-eastern New South Wales. It grows to a height of 5 to 10 metres with a spreading deciduous canopy.

Its bark is a light grey colour and leaves are dark green and broad egg-shaped; sometimes heart-shaped at the base. Flowers, which are greenish-yellow and borne in small clusters in the upper axils, occur from November to January (summer in Australia). The Peanut Tree’s seed pods are orange outside and orange/red inside when ripe; each pod when open contains 6 to 8 black seeds, remove the shell to expose an edible kernel that tastes like raw peanuts. Although slightly softer, they are similar to ground peanuts when roasted or used to make oil.

The gum of this tree can also be used as a glue and a cooking thickener (similar to corn flower) while the bark is used by Aboriginal people for basket weaving and fishing lines. This tree also has a number of medicinal uses. The crushed leaves were applied to wounds; an infusion of the bark was used for eye complaints; the sap used to heal wounds and, heated leaves pressed on stings to relieve pain.

The Kauri Pine is native to Queensland rainforest areas including Gympie, Maryborough and Fraser Island, in the south, and Ingham and Cooktown, in the north.

A mature tree can reach a height of 30 to 40 metres with a breast height trunk diameter of 1 and 3 metres.

Although initial logging occurred during the 19th century around Maryborough, in 1912, the Queensland Forestry Branch of the Department of Public Lands built a nursery, at Atherton, in North Queensland, to grow Kauri seedlings as a plantation trial, which proved very successful.

Queensland Kauri timber is creamy-white, of plain appearance, even-textured and fine-grained, easy to work and can be glued and stained. It is often used for cabinetry and flooring.

Like all conifers, Queensland Kauri Pine trees produce flowers that resemble immature cones, covered in tiny scales. At this juvenile stage pollen is produced on the scales of the male cones, on one tree, whilst receptive seed embryos are produced on the scales of the female cones, on a separate tree.

The seeds are favorites to the Sulphur-crested and Major Mitchell Cockatoos, as they chew the cones from the tree, letting them fall to the ground to split open, exposing the seeds. After dropping several seeds, the birds will then descend to the ground to feed on them.

Now introduced to many other countries of the world, the Camphor Laurel grows up to 20 to 30 metres tall, and is known to reach diameters exceeding 20 metres with large spreading branches of glossy, waxy leaves having an perfume of camphor when crushed.

In spring, it produces bright green foliage with masses of small white flowers, providing clusters of black, berry-like fruit 1 cm in diameter. Its pale bark is very rough and fissured vertically.

Camphor Laurel are cultivated for camphor and timber production. The production and shipment of camphor, in a solid, waxy form, was a major industry in China prior to and during the Japanese colonial era (1895–1945).

Camphor laurel was introduced to Australia in 1822 as an ornamental tree for use in gardens and public parks, but has become a noxious weed throughout Queensland and central to northern New South Wales, where it is suited to the wet, subtropical climate, becoming a pest.

The wood has an insect-repellent quality. The bi-product, Camphor is a white crystalline substance, and has been used for many centuries as a culinary spice, a component of incense, and as a medicine. It is also an insect repellent and a flea-killing substance. It was used medicinally and was also an important ingredient in the production of smokeless gunpowder and celluloid. The camphor content of the leaf litter helps prevent other plants from germinating successfully, helping to ensure the camphor's success against any potentially competing vegetation.

The seeds are attractive to birds and pass intact through the digestive system, ensuring rapid distribution.

The scientific name, Araucaria cunninghamii, honours the botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham, who collected the first specimens at the Cunningham’s Gap, near the Queensland/New South Wales border, in the 1820s.

This tree was planted by the second gardens curator, Richard Simmons in the 1930’s.

A large conical tree to 60 metres tall, and capable of reaching 4 metres in girth. Its bark is rough, in horizontal bands, exfoliating in fine circular bands with branches long with tufts at the ends. The Hoop Pines seeds can be up to 1.5 centimetres in length with narrow wings, to prevent damage when falling to ground.

The timber is “a first-class softwood varying from almost white to cream or light brown”. It is a plain timber of even texture without prominent grain or growth rings.

The largest living specimens today can be found in the Cunningham Gap area near the Queensland/New South Wales border with the tallest tree being a 42.5 metre specimen at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

Widely planted in Australia, both ornamentally and commercially, in timber plantations in northern New South Wales, the Hoop Pine is virtually odourless and peels easily which is why the Australian plywood industry was founded largely on Hoop Pine.

Its timber is durable in the dry and easy to work with because it readily accepts a wide variety of stains and finishes. It is mostly used for plywood, cabinet work, furniture, flooring, mouldings and linings and boat building.

The Cook Island Pine was discovered by Captain Cook, during his second voyage to Australia.

It is a narrowly conical tree which grows up to 60 metres in height with a clear trunk and numerous short shoots with grey bark that is papery, exfoliating in thin strips.

The horizontal, spreading branches grow in whorls and are covered with leathery or needle-like leaves.

The trees often have slightly tilting trunks which scientists have now noted a bizarre pattern to. They lean south in their northern range and north in their southern range due to local prevailing winds. Scientists believed out that the direction these Cook pines lean is always towards the equator, but they're not quite sure why.

The light coloured wood is fine grained, keeps well under water, but is susceptible to borers, and used in general carpentry.

The Cuban Royal Palm is a large palm which reaches heights of around 40 metres with grey stems or whitish-grey, and range from 46–66 centimetres in diameter.

The upper portion of the stem is encircled by leaf sheaths, forming the crown shaft, normally about 2 m long with leaves consisting of a 60 to 100 centimetre long petiole with a 4 to 4.6 metre stem.

The 1.4 metre inflorescence bears white male and female flowers and with fruit that turns purplish-black when ripe and an edible bud. The sap of young inflorescences can also be fermented to produce alcohol. In 1750, it was documented that the immature inflorescences could be pickled and eaten as a vegetable.

The wood from these palms is commonly used for construction and, because of its grand appearance, the palm has been used extensively throughout the world to line entrances to government buildings, and is a majestic inclusion to the Botanic Gardens.

This large deciduous tree grows to an average of 20 metres tall, with spreading branches. The trunk and limbs bear numerous conical spines particularly when young, but become eroded when older.

In spring the tree is covered in large five-petalled, cup-shaped flowers up to 20 centimetres in diameter. Although each flower only lasts for one day they are visited by numerous birds, especially rainbow lorikeets seeking the nectar. Here’s a fun fact, birds have been observed to get drunk on the fermenting nectar!

The fruit is a brown capsule filled with numerous black seeds that are covered in fine silky hairs; seeds are numerous, long, ovoid, black or grey in colour and packed in white cotton.

The tribal people from northern Australia, Papua New Guinea and the East Timor Islands have been known to use the light, hollowed-out logs as canoes, for transport and fishing.

An evergreen tree growing up to 20 metres in height and it typically has spreading branches. The bark is grey and smooth at first, peeling on older trees and the wood is pale brown or yellowish, undifferentiated and not prone to cracking.

Large bell-shaped burgundy-coloured flowers are produced on panicles; their scent is most notable at night indicating that they are adapted to pollination by bats, which visit them for pollen and nectar. The flowers also remain open by day however, and are freely visited by many insect pollinators.

The fruit resembling a sausage in a casing, is a woody berry from 30 to 99 centimetres long and up to 18 centimetres broad with each weighing between 5 to 10 kilograms, so don’t stand underneath!

The poisonous fruit pulp is fibrous, containing many seeds and are eaten by several species of mammals, including baboons, bush-pigs, savannah elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses, monkeys, and porcupines. The dried porous fruit can be used as a loofer, the fruit sap is used as a skin protectant from the sun’s rays, and believe it or not, you can make an alcoholic brew from the fruit after very careful process.