Photo © Tim Rue

history

The pair of Moreton Bay Fig Trees, which were once meant to be ornament, now dwarf the simple ranch house. The trees give a scale and stature to the east side of the property that is at once fitting and inspiring. Their vast canopies have provided shade to generations of family, friends, and visitors. The trees are a dominant feature of the landscape, their huge canopies visible from almost every aspect of the site.

The trees are also a powerful teaching tool. Native to Australia, Moreton Bay Fig trees were brought to Southern California by settlers wishing to re-make the dry landscape into a more verdant setting, reminiscent of their places of origin or what they had seen during their travels. The region’s benign and sunny Mediterranean climate, coupled with the trees’ ability to adapt to a limited water source, has allowed the Moreton Bay Fig trees of Southern California to thrive and grow vigorously. Rancho Los Alamitos was ideally suited to nourish these trees, owing to the ranch’s natural spring, which provided a generous water source, a necessary resource for the vast root system.