sydney3
12/15/05
Botanic Interests
We spent some time walking the grounds of the Sydney Botanic Gardens.
It's a beautiful place set in the middle of the city, and shows off
many of the local plants and trees that are found no where else in the
world. Australian greenery is alien to my eye, and must have looked the
same to the Europeans that first set foot on this Continent. One
tree that I am fascinated with is called a Strangler Fig. This picture
shows a grand Ficus Tree, probably over a hundred years old, but if you
look closer, you'll see another tree growing within the trunk of the
Ficus.
Although also a Ficus, this tree is known as the Strangler Fig Tree.
It's seed was probably
dropped by a bird in the crook of a branch on the host. The Strangler
seedling sprouted, and it's roots grew downwards into the soil. As more
roots grew, and old ones got thicker, more and more of the Strangler
Fig's roots and branches strangle the host tree, eventually killing it
leaving a Strangler Fig tree with a hollowed out center section from
it's old host. This method of survival comes from growing in rain
forests where sunlight at the forest floor is not enough for survival,
so growing up in the branches of another tree is a better way.
Given enough time, this majestic Ficus may succumb to
the Strangler Fig!
As we walked through the gardens, we heard the birds overhead squawking
to each other. In the afternoon, it is often Sulfer Crested Cockatoos
coming in to roost, but today we saw something a little different.
Hanging high from the trees were hundreds of large bats called Flying
Foxes! Except for the
noise they made, we could have easily not noticed these large mammals,
but occasionally one would fly off to another spot in the trees.
Their large wingspans would surprise me, and that was when I noticed
just how many there were up there. This was another situation when I
realized I was very very far away from what I know as home!
During our walks around town, we discovered what David Hassleoff has
been up to since Baywatch!
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