Fun in a Tree

Kings Park was having a plant sale, and after a day at the Royal Show, it seemed like a nice, relaxing thing to do after church.

And it was.

So we bought some plants for our garden, and then we went for a stroll, around a different part of Kings Park for me.

Many kinds of trees shown here, the stately Lemon Scented Gum trees lining Fraser Avenue, but my eye was drawn to the one by the wheel…

A dragon tree. A 70 year old Dracaena draco.

It was relocated to Kings Park by truck from a private property in Dalkeith.

Dracaena draco is native to the Canary Islands, Madeira, Morocco and Cape Verde Island. It is, in fact, a monocot (like a palm) rather than a true tree. The common name of Dragon Tree is derived from its red sap, traditionally referred to as dragon blood. A tad creepy looking too. 🙂

Then my eyes were drawn to this enormous tree, Ficus macrophylla, commonly known as the Moreton Bay fig.

Right away, it’s easy to imagine Silas, Rubi, and Ezra having a play here. So off I went. This kid’s land was a good place for me too!

John too! Trying his luck here with this fisheye with a timer.

So fun time in a tree for us two.

So glorious, just to be silly and together.

Such an amazing tree. I learned something later too, and to me, it gives evidence of a Creator.

As Ficus macrophylla is a strangler fig, seed germination usually takes place in the canopy of a host tree and the seedling lives as an epiphyte until its roots establish contact with the ground. It then enlarges and strangles its host, eventually becoming a freestanding tree by itself. Individuals may reach 60 m (200 ft) in height. Like all figs, it has an obligate mutualism with fig wasps; figs are only pollinated by fig wasps, and fig wasps can only reproduce in fig flowers.

Not an accident. In another note, It is monoecious: each tree bears functional male and female flowers.

So as we had fun in the tree, as we were leaving, besides all it’s other qualities, the sun and smoke in the air, gave it some magical qualities and a chance for me to get a black and white photo, making it almost storybook like…

I just love this tree.