Queensland Kauri

The Queensland Kauri is a native Conifer of Australia, now only Queensland. Surprising for Europeans, the leaves are not of needle-like shape, the look just like normal foliage. Still, the plants flowers in cones, therefore is a conifer and gymnosperm.

The timber was heavily logged in previous times, but still, the species itself is not endangered and sometimes used in human settlements. I have not seen it in the wild, the picture was done from the impressive specimen in Melbourne Botanical Gardens. A plate informs the vistor the tree was planted in the mid 1800s.

It catched my eye not only from the distance - I also liked the beauty of its bark.