STORY:
Standing proudly in a row along New Farm Road, these majestic sentinels dwarf all who pass by. While their enormous canopy casts an impressive shadow, it’s the sprawling root systems of Moreton Bay Fig trees that fascinate nature lovers. Spreading out like giant tentacles, the roots can be human height or taller. These trees are also known as strangler figs. Seed germination usually takes place in the canopy of a host tree, where the seedling lives as an epiphyte until its roots establish contact with the ground. Then it grows and strangles its host, eventually becoming a freestanding tree. These fig trees, believed to be up to 200 years old, were originally planted by settlers. But here it seems their cannibalistic nature is returning as one tries to choke a pine tree that dares join their ranks.