Around Quamby north of Cloncurry getting near midday when the external shade temperature was hovering between 45 and 50 C. (113 - 122 F). This was the hottest December temperature on record 1 Dec 2006. This is ancient volcanic country, mineralised with many base metals. The stark beauty always captures my interest. This is ancient, weathered country. The kurrajong is a semi arid tree -

Botanical name:
Brachychiton populneus

Flowering/fruiting season:
'seeds available summer - autumn' (Flood, 1980:96)

Location:
On rocky slopes and low hills below 2500' [760m] (Burbidge & Gray, 1976:25)

Use:

* Food, technology
* Young roots eaten and seeds (hard but can be crushed) (Flood, 1980:96)
* Seed ground, made into cakes, cooked; wood for shield (Parker in Gott, 1995)
* Young roots and shoots eaten, 'sweetish and agreeable taste.' (Bennett in Flood, 1980:296)
* 'Bark … source of fibre … for making nets, headbands and fishing lines.' (Zola & Gott, 1992:36)

Black Kurrajong Tree, Kurrajong

Notes:

* The name 'kurrajong' was given to fibre from bark of various plants that was used for making nets, fishing lines, headbands in the Sydney area (Gott, 1995)
* Leichhardt found that the seeds of B. populneus 'produced not only a good beveridge with an agreeable flavour, but ate well and appeared to be very nourishing' (Cribb & Cribb, 1987:94)
* 'Kurrajong seeds in their tough, woody pods are highly nutritious.' (Zola & Gott, 1992:36)
* Warning:'Minute hairs around seeds are liable to cause irritation.' (Burbidge & Gray, 1976:256

Good 4 Ur Heart Valentine's Blond Pizza Dough – combining the 1 cup warm water, 2 ? tsp. yeast, 1 tbs. olive oil, agave (or honey), then the 2 ? c. flour, 1 tsp. salt, ? c. grated Parmesan cheese (or powdered), make the dough, knead it 5 min., let it rise 1 ? – 2 hrs, I then divide into two balls before making the first pie. Leave the second ball in the bowl and cover until ready to form the crust. White sauce – melt 2 tbs butter on low-med heat, add to that the mix of 2 tbs flour, ? tsp. Cayenne pepper, ? teaspoon kosher salt, whisk in to that blend a warm cup of milk, bring to boil whisking as it thickens, remove from heat, add about ten cloves of roasted garlic cut up, then I used an emulsion blender to smooth it all together. Set aside. Whisk prior to spreading on the base. Heat pizza stone to 500 degrees, spread out the dough in a round or I did a rectangle, spread the sauce on first, add a layer of sliced mozzarella cheese, sprinkler large chunks of roasted garlic cloves to your liking, add the caramelized red onion slices (earlier cooked with evoo and butter, splash of vermouth and drizzle of balsamic vinegar) sprinkle with Parmesan shredded cheese and then a layer of Fontina cheese. Before placing it onto the pre heated stone, I add a swirl of evoo around the edge of the crust. 5 min. into cooking, used a brush on for egg wash on the crust. 8-10 min. when taking it out, immediately sprinkled a dried tomato basil seasoning blend.