Pine forest

This planted pine forest was met on the way to the "Mini-worlds end" in the Knuckles Mountains, Sri Lanka. These man made forest are creating an environmental catastrophe in the central mountains of Sri Lanka because they don't live in harmony with the indigenous plant and animals in the area.

Pine leaves take a long time to decompose naturally, at least in this particular environment. Hence they create a thick layer of dead leaves on the ground beneath and inhibit the growth of any plants in the undergrowth, destroying the natural habitat of both plant species and animals.

The beauty within

This also was taken in my garden, in a morning. The flower, of which type, I do not know, was about to blossom. The capsule is just starting to uncover the stem within. and the seed like things were creating a breath taking pattern inside it. This flower is somewhat like an Anthurium, pinkish white in colour. The dark tender leaf of the same plant is in the foreground. i was lucky enough to get a pale natural light from behind to highlight the outlines.

Bottle Tree

A Boab tree at Kings Park, Perth.

Some individual Boab trees are 1500 years old and older, which makes them the oldest living beings in Australia, and puts them amongst the oldest in the world.

Aboriginals used the giants as shelter, food and medicine. For the white settlers they served as easily recognizable land marks and meeting points, and not to forget as impromptu prison cells. (Reference;www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/boab_tree.html)