[1][2] It is situated in the Wonderboom Nature Reserve, Pretoria, and two circular walkways currently protect it from pedestrian traffic around its trunk and roots.

This has repeated until there are now three layers of daughter trees encircling the mother fig, with 13 distinct trunks, covering an area with a diameter of over 50 metres (160 ft).

The tree was discovered by the Voortrekkers in 1836 under the leadership of Hendrik Potgieter who named it the Wonderboom.

[3][4] In 1870 a fire destroyed a large part of the tree reducing its size drastically.

It was made a Champion Tree by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.