The trees at the Arboretum are such a rich resource. They provide visitors with links to over 100 countries, based on the natural distributions of each species. The six continents with trees are all represented here. If you add fossils, then Antarctica rates too! But the linkages are much stronger and deeper than this. Becoming aware of the tree family histories in our Forests at the Arboretum open doors to the long history of life on earth from the time when seed bearing trees ruled the world.

Most people in Australia are familiar with the idea of Gondwana, that giant mega-continent in the southern hemisphere, made up of what we now know as Antarctica, South America, Africa, India and Australia, plus a smattering of other small bits here and there. Trees like the roblé de Santiago, Nothofagus megacarpus (Forest 83), from Chile, is one of the quintessential Gondwanic genera.

But perhaps you have never asked what was happening in the rest of the world, at the time of Gondwana. Where were North America, Europe and Asia? What trees were there, and do any of our Forests link to them? And pushing back even further in time, was there a time without trees?

Well, the northern hemisphere equivalent of Gondwana is called Laurasia – a joined land mass of what we now call North America, Europe and Asia. And before these two super continents, there was a relatively short-lived mega-super continent now known as Pangaea. It consisted of all the major continental masses. Pangaea may have not lasted all that long, but it occurred at a critical time in the evolution of seed plants.

The Laurasian-Pangaean Forest Walk will take you through a range of Forests that tell the stories of these massive continental lands. Their forests still have resonances with the forests of today. By knowing more about where our Forest species have come from, your appreciation of the Arboretum and the biodiversity of the earth can be greatly enhanced.

Please wear sturdy covered shoes, dress for the weather and bring water.