The Giants of the Knysna Forests: Outeniqua Yellowwood

For me, Knysna has always been about the lagoon and sea horses, oysters and “The Heads”. But most importantly, the forests, complete with their secretive elephants and gold discoveries of yesteryear.

“Like venerable old giants of a vanished age the great stinkwood and yellowwood trees stand alone, swaying and nodding their approval… And when the people who are closest to the forest feel the rain upon their cheeks and smell the mist drifting up from the sea, they know it is nothing but the breathing of the forest and then they nod and smile to one another in the streets of the villages, and tourists looking for the sun can only wonder at their secret.” Hjalmar Thesen in ‘Country Days’.

The Afrocarpus falcatus tree was previously known as Podocarpus falcatus. Common names included common yellowwood, bastard yellowwood, Outeniqua yellowwood, African pine tree and weeping yew. Because of the area in which we find ourselves, let’s refer to it as the “Outeniqua yellowwood”.

Plaque detailing the stats of the King Edward VII Tree. 

The King Edward VII Tree (also known as the Diepwalle Big Tree) is one of the largest of several enormous Outeniqua Yellowwoods growing in the Knysna forests. It has a crown spread of 35.9 m and a circumference of seven meters. This tree reaches approximately 40 m above the forest floor. It was originally called Templeman’s Tree, after the woodcutter who bought it, but the tree was never felled because it was too large to be handled.

Ian Georgeson, our CEO, beneath the mighty King Edward VII Tree.

It was renamed after King Edward VII when a delegation of the British Parliamentary Association was treated to a lunch at the tree in 1924. It is estimated to be over 600 years old (stats vary depending on source). Towards the end of the 18th century, European stock farmers and woodcutters established themselves in the Knysna area and began harvesting the wood from the surrounding indigenous forests. There was a complete lack of appropriate legislation, and few good ecological practices. Irreparable damage was caused to these forests. Eventually (1939-1967) measures were taken to preserve and maintain the forests, closing them down to allow regeneration. That said, it is obviously virtually impossible to replace trees that had been there for over half a century!

It’s hard to depict the size of the King Edward VII Tree!

“Like a mighty king it stood towering above the white alder and mountain saffron, stinkwood, assegai and hard pear. As if God had planted it before the others, its giant roots anchored it to the ground like giant arms.” Dalene Matthee, Circles in a Forest, 1984.

There is a short 450m circular forest walk here as well. Following a wooden boardwalk, this walk is wheelchair / pram friendly. If you’re alone, all you will hear are the insects, the occasional bird and the wind in the trees. A place to regenerate your soul. The 8km (circular) White Elephant Hiking Trail also passes through here if you want to do a longer trail.

The 450m circular forest walk.

The Outeniqua Yellowwood  is the tallest indigenous forest tree in South Africa, and its crown is often decorated with a lichen known as “old man’s beard” (Usnea barbata).  Trees in the podocarpacea family are dioecious, which means that they are either male or female. The male cones of this tree develop during early summer (November) on the twigs produced the previous year and the pollen is released by the end of the next winter (a two-year period). Male trees can be identified by the dry cones on the forest floor. The female cones develop with new leaves in spring and are pollinated when the pollen is released from the almost one-year old male cones. The fleshy fruits are large and yellow, taking approximately 12 months to ripen.

These ripe fruits are eaten by bats, bushpigs, Cape parrots, purple-crested, Knysna and Ross’s louries, and Rameron, African green and Delagorgue’s pigeons. Their large, dense crowns provide roosting and nesting sites for various birds, and the endangered Cape Parrot especially loves to nest in large old yellowwoods.

Yellowwood trees are protected under the National Forests Act, 1998, as amended, and may not be cut, damaged, destroyed or disturbed without a licence granted by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (Forestry branch).

An amusing, yet sad, touch to the site is a set of wooden boards where the public are encouraged to carve their names – rather than on the tree…

Dalene Matthee (1938 – 2005), the author of 13 books, is best known for her four “Forest books” on the Knysna Forest: Circles in a Forest, Fiela’s Child, The Mulberry Forest and Dreamforest. She unexpectedly passed away on 20 February 2005 (from heart failure) in Mossel Bay. Her last resting place is Krisjan-se-Nek, which was one of her favourite spots in the Knysna Forest. Her ashes were scattered here, and a memorial erected. The giant Outeniqua Yellowwood tree at Krisjan-se-Nek was named after Dalene Matthee at the unveiling of the memorial. This tree is about 880 years old and 40 meters tall. The Krisjan-se-Nek area featured prominently in Matthee’s books, and it is thus appropriate that it is her last resting place. Sadly, we didn’t have the time to get to this spot…

Jacqui Ikin & The Cross Country Team

INFO BOX:

The King Edward Vll Big Tree in the Diepwalle Forest Knysna:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c-pJ_WRfmc&t=47s

King Edward VII Big Tree – Diepwalle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obu9qg6LMaU

Dalene Matthee
https://www.dalenematthee.co.za/en/memorial/