Not quite sure which way to go!

[tanglefoot]

I've been lucky enough to spend two beautiful days over Easter on Tasmania's west coast mountains, with inspiration for bonsai abounding! My favourite plants with bonsai in mind are the Nothofagus gunnii (Deciduous Beech or Tanglefoot!) and the Athrotaxis seaginoides and Athrotaxis cupressoides (King Billy Pine and Tasmanian Pencil Pine respectively), all endemic to Tasmania and in my mind iconic!

This shot of a Deciduous Beech is typical of many of the plants on the really exposed sites on these windswept mountains....they flatten themselves against the rock! This plant was one of the most dynamic we saw, the trunk twisting this way and that as season after season it has battled constant gales and the flattening effect of months of snowdrift during winter. The trunk is about 40mm in diameter, and the length being a couple of metres. The plant is wonderfully healthy as can be seen by the verdant green foliage and I would guess it could be anything from 80 to 300 years old! (Note: And in a reserve. Looking, photographing and oooing and aaahing only!) The yellow/orange leaves are signalling the very beginnings of autumn. In another couple of weeks or so, they will all be coloured!

This specimen is on Mt. Murchison (north of Queenstown), growing on spectacular mountain heights and receiving a rainfall of about 3 metres a year!

It's a pity this species is so unreliable as a potted plant! Still, it doesn't stop me from trying!

Not quite sure which way to go!.jpg

[NBPCA]

Looks like a snake in the bush! Lovely shot.

They naturally occur from about 900mtr altitude to 1,400mtr or so I believe and they may just like it that way.

Grant

[Spinner]

My initial reaction was, 'Oh, no! Tangles is lost'... then, of course, I realised the magic tree was the subject of the heading!!! Just picturing the country surrounding this shot makes me want to be there.
How about a limerick, professor?

[greyim]

Au natural, they seem to like the moister slopes. I have lost several potted ones, I think maybe need a good root run. And slugs devour them too...