Relic from Gondwana

Detail of bark from a Matai, Peel Forest.

Matai and other podocarp trees trace their roots (sorry) back to the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. They have survived the age of the dinosaurs, ice ages, and more recently some have even made it past the hum of a loggers chainsaw.

This fine specimen stands over 15m tall in Peel Forest. It's just a baby, maybe a few hundred years old. These slow growing trees take over 50 years to reach 3 metres in height, but some of its cousins stand nearly 30m tall in other parts of the forest, a Millenia after they first sprouted.