Gardens
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Back-scratcher ginger, Tapeinocheilos queenslandiae, over the main garden entrance, is the floral emblem of Cairns.
At the right are some mature swamp trees. The one
leaning across is Red Beech, Dillenia alata, a beautiful
large-leafed tree with soft papery mahogany red bark, and showy,
bright yellow flowers. The tall slender trunks on the left and
the smaller palms on the right front, are Alexander Palms. In
the center at the rear are some Melaleuca leucadendron,
with their creamy paperbark and honey filled blossoms. Also at
the rear is a very tall Pandanus.
This is an area of mostly Pandanus solmslaubachii and a climbing swamp fern, Stenochlaena palustrus. Clumps of mangrove ferns, Acrostichum speciosum, also grow in the same area. They are the only ferns known to tolerate salt water.
