Huon "Pines" & Ancient Rain Forests of Gondwana

One of the most charismatic & long-lived trees to be found in Tasmania is the Huon "Pine", which isn't a pine at all but actually a member of an extremely old conifer family (Podocarpaceae) from the Jurassic. Loggers began annihilating old-growth Lagarostrobos franklinii in the early 19th Century and logging wasn't stopped until the 1980s, at which point little to no old growth was left, except for the most remote patches of it which were only accessible after a few days of hiking through the wilderness in the remote Southwest. However, sometime in the 1980s a botanical survey revealed an isolated population of old growth Huons in the Eastern part of their range, as yet untouched by loggers.
In this episode we explore this grove and talk to the curator of botany at the Tasmania Herbarium about these incredible trees, as well as taking a closer look at some of the other species they grow with in these incredibly rich temperate rainforests.
Many thanks to Miguel de Salas & Matt Berger for help in the production of this episode.
Your contributions support this content. It sounds clichéd, but it's true. Whether it's travel expenses, vehicle repair, or medical costs for urushiol poisoning (or rockfalls, beestings, hand slices, toxic sap, etc), your financial support allows this content to continue so the beauty of Earth's flora can be made accessible to the rest of us in the degenerate public. At a time when so much is disappearing beneath the human footprint, CPBBD is willing to do whatever it takes to document these plant species and the ecological communities they are a part of before they're gone for good.
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Thanks, GFY.

[@theMusiCandMedicinE]

What a stunningly beautiful habitat. Judging by the lack of crude humour and tangents against the ills of modern society, I'd say joey was awestruck by the pure majesty of this place ☺️

[@morelcultivation9339]

yes not a single joke or nasty word....Lol Huon are awesome...

[@roygbiv5164]

Ha, I was thinking the same thing!

[@vapormissile]

Referred to as "Bein f*ckin Gobsmacked."

[@kamikaze2613]

I thought it was a smarteveryday video 😅

[@katiekane5247]

I wish I could give more every month, you show me things I'll never get to see in person. The drone shots are awesome Joey. Many thanks guys!

[@19MAD95]

This reminds me I need to buy more merch

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Thanks for your support, both of you!

[@mkuc6951]

I think like Tasmania and New Zealand are some of the few places you can go where there's so much preserved that you don't feel like people have destroyed everything.

[@aggressivegarden7072]

@@19MAD95 The illustration book is awesome.

[@magoobaguy]

I've never heard Joey sound so chill! Clearly being in a tassy forest is doing some magic.

[@donfinch862]

As an Australian, I'm quite proud of this. What an amazing plant the Huon is. Surely these areas should be listed as world heritage. Many thanks to Miguel for the tour.

[@PSadvance]

Makes me want to move to Tasmania. I live near some crazy temperate rainforests here in Victoria but nothing so wet as this. Here we still worry about everything going up in flames every summer with how hot and dry it gets. Would love to see CPBBD check out the Yarra Ranges National Park area one day.

[@erininnes7448]

The intact temperate rainforests don't burn. Only the tree plantations do. One of the best things we can do in BC to protect against wildfires is to protect the old growth forests.

[@FungusWolf]

Start sneaking Nothofagus trees into the forest as they were Australia wide before all the fires we created through drought, if we could get the deciduous plants back we can restore soil, forests and rain ☺️

[@saoirsecameron]

@@erininnes7448 what? They may have very long fire frequencies (300+ years) but with a few exceptions most temperate rainforests do eventually burn. Douglas Fir could not be a component of these forests if there wasn’t some level of stand clearing disturbance. Don’t get me wrong, tree plantations are a scourge and have majorly disrupted the natural fire regime of this ecosystem, but they didn’t invent fire.

[@Kiu_8]

The place looks straight out of a fairytale, it's kinda' fascinating how authors who never got to see such places wrote quite vividly about stuff like this, and, to their fortune, wonders like this one exist. Yet another great video dude, thank you for sharing!

[@dangermouse2977]

Relictual, tender fuzzy drupacea, bubbling creek, bubbly bark another delightful journey Thank you for sharing and keeping it real.

[@coltlineberry2444]

This has to be one of my favorite places you've been to. It's so peaceful and fun to imagine Antarctica looking like that.

[@PK1312]

I love all of the weird desert plants you show us, but it was a fun change of pace to see you in a rainforest!

[@JacobCanote]

Such a cast in one show! A joy to see.

[@jessicathomas73]

Have you been to see the Antarctic Beeches on the mainland? There is an awesome spot to see groves of them in Qld. They grow in a similar way to the Huon Pines. In clumps of multiple trunks, often 3 - 4 from what I have seen although I am no expert. They also send out branches that just then shoot off for long distances at times. I found one Antarctic Beech (nothofagus moorei) that you can crawl under and sit next to it's massive tap root going into the ground. Incredible spot. One of my favourite spots to visit.

[@lowellphillips2470]

First of your videos I've ever seen. Absolutely fantastic, I can't wait to watch more.

[@meik1102]

Really enjoy following you on your botanical expeditions. You should come here to NZ too. We even have bigger Podocarps growing here (Totara, Kahikatea, Rimu, Matai) in addition to mighty Kauri trees. And if you come you should visit the West Coast of the South Island with its ancient forests. The alpine flora is also pretty intersting here.

[@robmanueb.]

And if he thinks that place is wet... :)

[@mrmetaphysic5798]

This forest almost looks extraterrestial. It`s really amazing we have the opportunity to see places like this where we will never go to. Great work, guys!

[@hallcody3]

Tasmania, wow congratulations, such a great adventure for you I can imagine. Thanks for sharing a very exciting episode and local

[@garybaxter7297]

Crikey, mate. When I expected to hear Miguel De Salas it never dawned on me that he would sound like Crocodile Dundee's nephew. I was expecting Speedy Gonzales. Another fantastic show and Mr. Salas was a wealth of knowledge. Thanks Tony.

[@peggieincolfaxca3818]

oh my gosh what a beautiful holiday gift. Thank you!!!

[@loklan1]

Never would have thought I'd hear a Deny King reference on my favourite youtube channel, he was a fascinating character. I've spent a bunch of time in south west tassie, it's a magical place, a land that time forgot. Best explored with a boat, by god the walking tracks can be rough, knee deep mud for miles and miles!

[@JasonBennett1]

loving the 90s acid jazz and drone shots to kick off. stay for the thousand-year-old tree.

[@johanstefonski401]

Reminds me so much of Oregon. To see this strange doppelganger of the forests I love so dearly is incredibly strange and beautiful. Thanks for the beautiful footage dude.

[@garycubby2572]

There are some spots on the upper Mckenzie and North Fork Willamette that are dead ringers.

[@cameronstoneadams1183]

Oregon? Coastal forest or North Fork Willamette ?

[@mkuc6951]

That's super interesting. Tasmania is very similar in a way, because California is very Mediterranean, and the more north you go the wetter it gets (upside down it goes south obviously) I guess its a form of convergent evolution.

[@freesocialrockclimbing]

Good to see come old friends. Been scrub bashing through miles of bauera. My favourite has to be atherosperma moschatum

[@benjamindavis6535]

I live in on the edge the South West National Park (Where the video is shot) in Tasmania, This is pretty much my back yard.... I know many areas of pockets of Huon Pines, Sassafras, Celery top, King Billys and Pencil pines... Wonderful place.

[@FrogDriedPills]

loving the Tasmanian content. Would love you to do some mainland Australian stuff. Especially Victoria, from rainforest to alpine to sub desert habitats here.

[@xiphosura413]

He's got a series up on WA hinterland habitat, which is quite good.

[@sacramentofoodforest]

Man I love habitats like this so much. Thanks for posting this man amazing rainforest!

[@alghirab]

"I can't imagine seeing something like this and wanting to cut it down" There was a book I read, I think it was historical fiction about druids. When they saw a really big, beautiful tree, they would tie ribbons around its branches. That really stuck with me and honestly I have a similar response when seeing trees like this. Like, look at you! Incredible! You are such a cool tree! Let me give you a ribbon and a gold star, you deserve it! (Not that I would do it literally, most ribbons now are polyester, and F*** microplastics.)

[@katyabandow712]

this was a goddamn beautiful video. such ancient giants. was lovely meeting you guys 💚

[@dimtillon7529]

I hope you are enjoying your time in our beautiful country brother, bless you.

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

Thanks, Miguel! ❤️

[@peter1448]

Another great vid from CPBBD, we've got plenty of terrestrial leeches in our rainforests here, not sure if they're Gondwanan lineage as well, could be As said by others we've got remnants all the way up the east coast to New Guinea, crazy we lost so much to logging but mostly stopped now, we need to end intact native forest logging. Had fires in parts of the local sub-tropical rainforests here in 2019 though, probably first time in many thousands of years, part climate change and reduced size of the big scrub here in Nth NSW, remnants from Gondwanan rainforests too

[@austintracy9798]

Another amazing video - thank you for working to share this with the world!

[@raystephens9550]

Thank you. Live just across the moat north of the top end of the lost island at the bottom of the Earth, where the Huon are long gone, but the Mountain Ash still flourish above the Tree Fern, and we are currently attempting to push progress of Platypus back into outer suburbs of Melbourne,,, Difficult, but not impossible, so long as the yabbie, native mollusc and worms can also be coaxed back into cleaner water with more foot traffic and zero vehicles. A bequest worth leaving in our wake. Not long ago in the 1980s and 1990s Platypus were sighted in Blind Creek only 25km from the centre of Melbourne city. Seen in the Yarra today, but not often.

[@pepper6238]

I learned so much from this episode! Thank you!

[@greentree180]

Are you coming to QLD? Would love to show you around. I live in the Gondwana forests up here. Mega diversity and more rare plants per square metre than anywhere else in Australia.

[@whyukraine]

You should come to Ukraine in the spring. The Carpathians are magnificent , but even here in the middle of the country I go foraging for all kinds of wild plants & mushrooms.

[@cvspvr]

"this here is the ukranian pine, pinus ukrainii. it looks very similar to the common european pine, but upon closer inspection, it has bullet holes in it"

[@Fragrantbeard]

@@cvspvrnot funny; just horribly sad. And I'm all about Joey's dark sense of humor. But people are dying UGLY deaths.

[@craigkeller]

Stunning. Thank you 🙏

[@liamgoldsworthy8243]

So happy to see you showing off the beauty of my home state. The Huon Valley is gorgeous all year round!

[@lswhalen1]

Incredibly beautiful! Thanks for sharing this incredible habitat ❤

[@xwhite2020]

Fantastic video Joey. Thanks mate.

[@zowiefenderblast4602]

Moving contents always give me the giggles. Thanks for the amazing videos and knowledge!

[@ThomasTheFapEngine]

Mate, I just spent the last 4 days up the east coast hating every minute of being away, southern Tassie (The Huon Valley), is my home and I never want to change that. (Though the west coast is beautiful), so nice to know You're down here, I've often thought you'd love it! Can't wait to watch this and learn more about my home, and couldn't be better timing P.S I work with huon pine on a regular basis, making mostly topographical CNC milled maps of Tasmania and its highlighted areas.

[@thekingoffailure9967]

What a cool and spiritually fulfilling life it sounds like you live, Thomas the fap engine!

[@remblish4401]

love seeing people share the beauty of my home state, hope you come back soon

[@craigkoehn9253]

incredible. Thank you for all that you do.

[@jessicathomas73]

Ooooh I think I know where you are...I tried to go there when I was in Tasmania but couldn't get it organised in time. Thank you so much for showing us these. Aaaaaaaaah yes, as the video goes on you are where I think you are :-)

[@stephsexoticpets]

gorgeous. magical. thank you!

[@douglasboyle6544]

You've shown us some pretty interesting plants over the years but this Huon Pine is my new favorite, this was fantastic.

[@evasartorius9528]

You are so awesome. The things you show us are things we might never see on our own. Props to you.

[@patrick247two]

Thank you. I hope you have the opportunity to visit New Zealand. Lots of interesting stuff.

[@tomarmstrong1297]

Sure hope that you're doing an Australia-wide tour. Would love to see you do other parts of the country also.

[@pansepot1490]

He was in Australia 3 years ago. Below I link the playlist. kzbin.info/aero/PLK8bda0Bqux1dfVwx9vyvuY5KeVckLW2N

[@mozismobile]

So much easier with a drone than in the old days climbing round with ropes. Glad to see you down under!

[@JesseValentine]

I'm so glad you finally took the Tazzie tour! Fantastic stuff.

[@flamingorentals6819]

Speaking of moss diversity Tasmania has the only population of Ambuchanania leucobryoides, which is another lonely branch. Their closest relatives are the hugely successful genus Sphagnum. Not much to look at visually but evolutionarilly very cool.

[@dbrowne9341]

Magical, thank you

[@coloradoconcentrates2434]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!! Love these videos.

[@alanamccool7409]

Thank you, beautiful trees!

[@kenregrooney6804]

Great music. Loved the video with the music. Thx

[@combatq8888]

Love to watch these, big ups Joey!

[@malbennett9806]

We have similar Temperate Rainforests in the British Isles, western side of the islands. Not as connected or large as this but still bryophyte, relic tree population & Fern heaven.

[@jonstfrancis]

Yeah, the environment looked very similar to the so-called primordial oak woodlands covered in ferns, lichens and mosses. Awesome places to hide in and just look at the alien looking lichens and listen to the birds hidden in the thick foliage.

[@shaydenismat7786]

Love it! If you want to explore the Otways then let me know, you're about a stones throw away from us in Victoria.

[@closeupchannel4365]

Please come over to NZ if you are in this neck of the woods.

[@stephenpmurphy591]

That would be wonderful.

[@OnlyHereForCake]

Keen to see his thoughts on our own temperate rainforests and all the bloody ferns we have

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

Great episode, nice departure, sublime forest

[@rocksor83]

Wow thank you for the gorgeous video! I want to go to Tasmania now. This forest reminds me of the Hoh Rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula except Hoh has twice the amount of moss. There is also a lot of biodiversity in terms of fungi and bryophytes. We also get lightening strike fires in the rainforest during some hot summers, hard to imagine with that much moss but it does get really dry.

[@user-f5xt2op9t]

Excellent Drone Work! Another great video. GFY!

[@megaflux7144]

man.. i feel like NOW i know what your "A game" looks like. this is amazing stuff!

[@xbc2000_]

Wow, glad to see you in my home state!

[@ronnieboucherthecrystalcraftsm]

and a big thanks to = Cousin Tony - so glad he came down under - to Gondwana Land ! tassie - go and have a look before you go to sleep with the fishes ! = love your commentating - GFY . thanks .

[@oldmango8606]

good guesr. thanks Tony

[@davewalter1216]

Thanks mate, that was great. A wonderfully weird wander through a world that was once and always wet. Wish I had your insouciance towards the leeches. They freak me out.

[@MrAtrophy]

The Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish is in streams like in the north . that it is a huge, beautiful and rare critter. they can get 3 feet long I have always wanted one in a giant paludarium.

[@m34nb34n]

Wow that place is amazing looking.

[@EnglishDave6767]

Ahhh, yeah! Stunning habitats, Joey! Love those Huon Pines.. especially with the drone footage flying around. Cheers, from the southern Oregon Coast. Gonna go hug some trees here.

[@ralphwiggum3463]

Visit New Zealand next! so much beauty !

[@anitareasontobelieve378]

Thank you for the very cool stories and teaching us how nature actually works.

[@insolentstickleback3266]

Excellent field trip Professor GFY. I love Tasmania, this was a pleasure. Have a great New Years Eve!

[@spookyduzit]

This episide is amazing. They should let you make van Imax movie soon

[@JOlivier2011]

Great video, thank you man

[@kieranfellowes8940]

Awesome vid thanks man

[@lukthere2]

What amazing trees! First video i saw o this channel -instantly subscribed. So much knowledge and really great bits with humor 😅👌👌

[@jasonfraser701]

Great video. Well done

[@richardbidinger2577]

What a beautiful place. I would never want to leave there.

[@treebeard8475]

Great video man. That creek looks like one near me in New England, lots of moss and fallen trees, but I’ve never seen a tree with cloning capabilities like that. What a cool trip to Tasmania, hope you had a good new years!

[@analogtom]

I recognized your video from the adjacent room hearing the music. Love the intro.

[@TropicalGardeningCyprus]

Magical forest

[@shannarudovclark]

So glad you've come to Tassie :)

[@erichtomanek4739]

Leatherwood honey is the best honey! Excellent video, informative and entertaining.

[@phonzy]

My new favorite tree

[@fudgepuppyorangecake]

Love your videos! Would love to see you do a tour of New Zealand some time.

[@DRChupacabrah]

the honey made from leatherwood blossoms is very intense and unique

[@nikmohamed5906]

Tasmania the land of dinosaur 😍😍 From your drone shot, the tasmanian river seems to be quite dark from tannin leaching from the forest detritus, and i presume it has to be acidic softwater (low CaCO3 concentration). And I was thinking that how crazy that the world's biggest freshwater crayfish the majestic Tasmanian giant freshwater lobster can grow so large in this water environment

[@patricksweetman3285]

Strongly recommended.

[@morgans9139]

Documentario eccezionale grazie. Anche la musica è ottima’

[@Emre-K]

I wanted to buy a huon pine and grow it in a cool and humid room, I couldn't germinate the seeds too small, I found it more convenient to grow this tree from a branch piece, thanks.

[@ShunNiikura]

Hey Joey... Wet forest with mosses and many different species of filmy ferns... Old "pines" (Cryptomeria japonica)... Round stones, big as houses... Endemic plants... From subtropical to nearly alpine climate! Ever went to Yakushima Island in southern Japan? I would recommend that!

[@An-kw3ec]

"Mononoke" forest right?, i saw photos of that place, looks beautiful, very similar to Azores temperate rainforests,Cryptomeria reminds me to Calocedrus, but with very different soil and rain pattern requirements.

[@ShunNiikura]

​@@An-kw3ec Shiratani Unsui Gorge and Mt. Miyanoura were great.

[@ross1972]

I have a couple of Phyllocladus alpinus in my garden has a really distinctive smell that reminds me of the mountains here in New Zealand. Tasmania looks really cool.

[@SoNoFTheMoSt]

sooo awesome :)

[@Exquailibur]

I live on the Olympic peninsula south of British Columbia, that forest really gives off the same vibes as the ones here. I mean I am now thinking that because of this my perception of what a "big tree" is might be a bit off, none of those trees look big to me but I am surrounded by Douglas firs. The ferns and moss really do bring a forest together in my opinion. Coastal Douglas firs might have been the tallest tree in the world once, but definitely not anymore. Similar story to the Huons they were really high quality lumber so they were clear cut unlike their southern brethren the redwoods. Its really sad that the other contender for the largest tree in the world had its chance at fame stolen from it by us.

[@jedmanson]

Your probably pretty well organised but I recommend a road trip from Melbourne through the deserts to Alice Springs. If you go the good way it'll take a week. Nice work fella. 👏 👏👏

[@overcup]

I really, really dig the drone shots at the beginning.

[@craighoover1495]

Thank you Joey and thanks to your guide and hosts. One wonders about resistance to rot and what exact compounds are responsible and if structure might also contribute.

[@loklan1]

I think the slow growth is part of it, really fine grain with lots of oils in the timber.

[@v2gbob]

I'd love to drink from the creek, looks so clean! Beautiful ecosystem! I looked up Badger Creek, Tasmania, on Google Maps that your guide mentioned. He wasn't kidding that you either fly in via helicopter or spend days walking in. That is one seriously remote place! (Note to self: When the zombie apocalypse happens, Badger Creek looks like a great place to bail out of "society" to.)

[@danielspoon1234]

Yesss Tasmania 🤠 my birth place