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Santa Barbara's Moreton Bay Fig Tree located in
Santa Barbara's Moreton Bay Fig Tree located in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...
is believed to be the largest ''Ficus macrophylla
''Ficus macrophylla'', commonly known as the Moreton Bay fig or Australian banyan, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the family Moraceae native to eastern Australia, from the Wide Bay–Burnett region in the north to the Illawarra in New So ...
'' in the United States.Days, M. L. (1977). ''Histories of individual parks Santa Barbara California''. Santa Barbara, CA: City Planning Committee.
A seaman visiting Santa Barbara in 1876 presented a seedling of an Australian Moreton Bay fig tree to a local girl who planted it at 201 State Street. After the girl moved away a year later, her girlfriend, Adeline Crabb, transplanted the tree to the corner of Montecito and Chapala streets, just a few blocks from the ocean, on land then owned by the Southern Pacific Transportation Company. The tree was officially designated as a historic landmark in 1970, and the property was deeded to the City of Santa Barbara in 1976. The tree has since been placed on the California Register of Big Trees. The roots are protected by a chain barrier the size of the canopy. The tree may be viewed at the Amtrak Train Station, 209 State Street.
In July 1997, the circumference of the tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
, measured at a height of above the ground, was . The average crown spread was and the total height was .
See also
* List of individual trees * *References
External links
*https://blogs.chapman.edu/huell-howser-archives/2001/01/08/trees-californias-gold-3013/ 30-min video: Huell Howser visits the fig free in a 2001 episode of ''California's Gold'']. Individual fig trees Individual trees in California Natural history of Santa Barbara County, California Tourist attractions in Santa Barbara, California {{tree-stub