Ancient Conifers 

Tasmania is not only home to the oldest living trees in Australia, it also has many weird and wonderful plants that are endemic to this cool, windy wet island - below are some portraits of a few of them 

Above and below - A Pencil Pine Athrotaxis cupressoides, in the Walls of Jerusalem NP - These trees live at over 1200m above sea level and the annual growth rate is extremely slow, so trees such as this are likely over 1000 years old. 

Above: An ancient King Billy Pine Athrotaxis selaginoides, near New Pelion Hut on the Overland Track
Below: A group of King Billy Pines on the way to Frenchmans Cap

Above: A remarkable, ancient Huon Pine, Lagarostrobos franklinii, growing horizontally out from the bank of the Lake Vera at about 600m a.sl. in the Frenchmans Cap NP

Above and below: A remarkable grove of Huon Pines growing along a tributary of the Picton River

A King Billy Pine growing on the shores of Lake Hartz in the Hartz NP

Above and below: The extraordinary 'Octopine', a multi-stemmed Pencil Pine growing in 'Dixon's Kingdom' - possibly the largest grove of Pencil Pines left in Tasmania.

Above: A very old, multi-trunked Pencil Pine growing near Tarn Shelf in the Mt Field NP

Above and below: Truly ancient King Billy Pines in the Cradle mountain NP.