SOME REALLY TALL TREES AND OTHER FLORA

I have always loved the California redwoods. They are ancient, majestic in size and seem rather eternal.  Here on Tasmania, totally unknown to me, I came across the swamp gum, the largest broad leaf trees in the world. While a good redwood gets to 300’+, these can get nearly there, topping out around 280.’ They are part of the eucalyptus family and grow to this majestic size in Mt. Field National Park, less than 2 hours from Hobart.

The 280′ tall swamp gum

 

Another giant swamp gum with the perspective of my car far below it.

Then there is the King Billy Pine, which grows to over 200′ and over 1,000 years.  Yet, its major weakness is that it is susceptible to fires, unlike our giant western trees.

A giant King Billy Pine, Cradle Mountain NP

The isolation of Australia and particularly Tasmania has resulted in other strange flora.  Like the 15′ tall Pandai below. It is  member of the heath family, typically a ground cover/small bush.

A Pandai forest

Then we have the giant, simply called man-ferns.  And I thought our ferns got big!  

Man fern above more normal ferns

 

Man fern “forest.”

And, then just lots of beautiful stuff growing everywhere.

 

 

Beautiful alpine meadow Mt.Field NP

 

Pineapple grass.

 

Copperish lichen

 

 

I love the contrast of the colorful ground cover and the dead and living eucalyptus trees.

This is a giant geranium in a yard in Hobart. Clearly they do not get freezes.