Moreton Bay Fig Tree, Heritage tree at Santa Barbara Train Station, California

The Moreton Bay Fig Tree stands beside the Santa Barbara Amtrak station at 209 State Street. Its thick, dark trunk divides low into heavy limbs, some reaching almost horizontally near the ground, and its dense canopy of small green leaves forms a broad crown wider than it is tall. In 1997 the tree measured 80 feet high with a crown spread of 176 feet.

In 1876 an Australian seaman visiting Santa Barbara gave a Moreton Bay fig seedling to a local girl, who planted it at 201 State Street. After she moved away a year later, her friend Adeline Crabb transplanted it to Montecito and Chapala streets on Southern Pacific land. It was designated a historic landmark in 1970, and the property was deeded to the city in 1976.

The tree's name comes from Moreton Bay in Queensland, Australia, the native range of Ficus macrophylla. It has appeared on screen: Huell Howser visited it for a 2001 episode of the California's Gold series. A chain barrier the size of the canopy now surrounds the roots.

The tree is on public grounds next to the train station and accessible from morning through evening. Parking is available along nearby streets, and the location is easy to reach on foot from downtown Santa Barbara.

The tree's roots are enclosed by a chain barrier measured to match the canopy's spread, so the protected ground mirrors the 176-foot crown above. In 2001 Huell Howser featured the fig on his California's Gold series, and the tree also appears on the California Register of Big Trees.