Today I planted a bunya pine that I got from Joe. Bunya are found in Queensland, Australia and can grow to about 150 feet and make HUGE cones with edible kernels that look like giant pine nuts. It’s actually not in the pine family but an Araucaria the last of it’s kind. They’ve been around since the Jurassic age and the leaves are pokey and almost reptile like. Fossils of this tree were discovered in Europe and South America. The cones can weigh around 20 pounds and can fall down from high up randomly!
Historically, every 2 to 7 years Native Australians would stop all fighting and travel far distances to gather at the Bunya mountains to feast on bunya nuts. They held ceremonies, settled disputes, arranged marriages, and traded during these gatherings. Bunya is a sacred tree that holds spiritual significance in aboriginal life. Each family owned a grouping of bunya trees and was passed down from generation to generation. This is the only example of personal property ownership rights in their culture.
Mahalo Joe for this special tree. I hope that this one will live over 200 years. Can’t believe that I made it to 150 days now and we’re not even half way through this year yet.
Originally posted on 2021-05-30, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.