A CBS news report is that the north pole once had a tropical climate cause by a runaway greenhouse effect- follow the link to read the article for yourself. The unlikely herothat pumped the CO2 out of the sky was a small floating fern calledAzolla. Apparently, it liked the living in the vast numbers offreshwater lakes and as its remains sank to the bottoms of those lakes,it took a lot of carbon out of circulation. Azolla can be seen doingexactly this process in the freshwater lake of (Flecker) Cairns Botanic.

In the Solomon Islands, falling coconuts are the leading cause of injuries with several thousand causalities occurring every year. Injuries can include fractures of the skull and spine. Even in Australia, falling coconuts create enough risk that a large industry has arisen to deal with it. Perhaps between 5-10 people in Cairns receive a significant regular income from denutting coconut palms. The traditional method of removing nuts is to climb the palm using spikes (attachments to work boots) and a strap. Any mature nuts are removed and also the lower fronds are also removed.

Years ago, Brisbane City Council used to import a real spruce tree from Norway every year for a Christmas tree. The tree would be about 10 m tall and would be decorated with lights. I remember going to see it as a child and looking at it closely as it was the first and only ‘real’ Christmas tree that I have ever seen. There is a difference between a real tree and a plastic tree – even an expensive plastic tree makes for a made-in-China Christmas.

Right now swarms of alien-like plants are emerging from the rainforest floor. When I first saw these things, I promptly dissected one in a vain attempt to work out which kingdom these organisms belong. I could not find anything recognisable, however they are known to science and are considered to be a flower of a specialised root parasite. Being a root parasite, the plant has no leaves or stems and no chlorophyll. The scientific name of this plant is Balanophora fungosa.

On the blue arrow track which climbs up from the Botanic Gardens, there are some enormous cycads.  If fact, some cycad experts believe that this species of cycad is the worlds tallest.  The cycad I am talking about is Lepidozamia hopei, which lives in the rainforest on the high branch of the blue arrow track - Cairns Botanic Gardens.