Brachychiton

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids > Malvids > Malvales > Malvaceae > Brachychiton discolor

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:                Lacebark Tree

• Also,  lace kurrajong, pink kurrajong, scrub bottle tree, white kurrajong, hat tree and sycamore

Conservation status:  ...

Etymology:   

Flowers:                  

• Pink flowers without petals

• Flowers form from November to February

• The flowers are pink, almost without stalks, 3 to 4 cm in diameter

• Separate male and female flowers

Fruit:                         

• The fruit is a hairy boat shaped follicle

• Maturing from December to July. 7 to 20 cm long

• Containing up to 30 seeds, 9 mm long

• Germination from fresh seed occurs without difficulty

Leaves:         

• Leaves are hairy; lobed in three, five or seven points. 10 to 20 cm in diameter

• Whitish underneath, dark green above

• Leaf veins visible on both sides

Stem & branches: 

• The trunk is straight, grey and cylindrical, up to 75 cm in diameter

• Not buttressed at the base

• Twigs hairy, brown and smooth

Roots:         

Habit:        

• Tree up to 30 m tall

Habitat:   

•  It grows in drier rainforest areas

Distribution:                  

•   Eastern Australia

•  Scattered from Paterson, NSW  (32° S) to Mackay, Queensland (21° S)

• There is also an isolated community of these trees at Cape York Peninsula

Additional notes:     

• Uses

  • Widely planted as an ornamental tree

  • Wood used as shields by Indigenous Australians

  • Roasted seeds edible to humans

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachychiton_discolor (Feb 2024)