What is a bunya pine?
The bunya pine is a tall conifer native to southeast Queensland, famous for its enormous cones, which can weigh up to about 10 kilograms and fall from heights of 30 metres or more.
Bunya pines, Araucaria bidwillii, grow up to around 45 metres tall, with a dome-shaped crown and sharp, spiky leaves. They belong to an ancient family of conifers whose relatives were widespread in the age of dinosaurs.
Natural bunya forests grow in the Bunya Mountains and Blackall Range, with small populations in far north Queensland. They are also planted in parks across Australia and overseas.
The bunya gatherings
Every few years, bunya trees produce heavy crops of cones. Aboriginal peoples from across southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales travelled to the Bunya Mountains for great gatherings to feast on the nuts, hold ceremonies, trade and settle disputes.
The nuts, which taste a little like chestnuts, can be boiled or roasted and are still eaten today.
Because falling cones can injure people and damage cars, councils sometimes fence off bunya trees in parks during cone season, usually in summer.
Did You Know?
Bunya Mountains National Park, established in 1908, protects the world's largest bunya pine forest.