Bunyas in Flower

Araucaria bidwillii
Family: ARAUCARIACEAE
Here are some of the male flowers which can be seen on Bunya trees around the district at the moment. When new, they are such a pretty shade of blue - and have the interesting characteristic of occurring on the lower branches only. The female flowers are higher up in the trees.
This suggests careful planning on the part of these canny plants. They don’t want to fertilise themselves, so this arrangement means that their pollen is more likely to get dispersed (by the wind) to the female flowers on other trees.





I don’t know how old this lovely avenue is, but think it quite likely that the person who planted the original seeds is still living. It’s possible to create something like this in your lifetime, and leave a beautiful legacy that can last for hundreds of years.