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Ficus macrophylla
Ficus macrophylla, commonly known as the Moreton Bay Fig, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the Moraceae family that is a native of most of the eastern coast of Australia, from the Atherton Tableland (17° S) in the north to the Illawarra (34° S) in New South Wales, and Lord Howe Island. Its common name is derived from Moreton Bay in Queensland, Australia. It is best known for its beautiful buttress roots, which are also known for damaging municipal footpaths.
Native to Australia
This huge tree (2 stories tall) was planted in the park in San Diego over 90 years ago. It has massive "buttress" roots and provides habitat for many other organisms. I saw a squirrel and a black phoebe around the roots in the couple of minutes I was photographing the tree.
Spotted on Nov 1, 2011
Submitted on Nov 3, 2011
3 Comments
Lauren, this one and the Santa Barbara one are both famous and much admired.
This one is as gorgeous as the one in Santa Barbara, Ava, and looks just as protected. I was an avid tree climber when I was a little girl too. My sister and I used to spend hours in our favorite trees.
Wow, Ava, that is a fine looking tree, and a wonderful ambassador for MBF's abroad. I had endless fun as a kid playing in beautiful trees like this, something many kids miss out on these days.