Return to the Australian Native Plants Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
brachychiton query
| | |
Posted by mongoose Adelaide Aust (My Page) on Tue, Nov 22, 05 at 20:22
Hi
I am in the process of redevloping my front garden. One plant is giving me some angst because it is not growing but I am still hesitant to remove it.
It is certainly a Brachychiton by leaf, flower, trunk and density. Flowers seem to be a light pinky-red in colour, the inside bing more faded than the outside. This seems too dark for a flame tree flower and the leaves on my tree do not have any lobes. However in the photos I have seen of Kurrajong flowers they appear to have a cream ouside and a darker pink inside. They are supposed to be large trees but in the 15 years we have lived in the house it does not appear to have grown at all and remains only 2 -2.5 metres high. It has rarely flowered although I suspect it has been a wet year when it has. It has just started flowering and we have had record October rains.
I live in Rostrevor in Adelaide and our area gets 450+mm /yr. The ground contains fairly heavy red clay beneath the topsoil of about 30cms. The land is on a gentle slope. The soil in another location of the garden has tested as weakly acid.
The tree is under the partial shade of a much larger eucalypt but gets some period of full sun in the morning.
Can anybody help with the exact species and why it might be so small? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: brachychiton query
| | |
- Posted by deejaus Melb.Vic. Aust (My Page) on
Tue, Nov 22, 05 at 22:57
I don't know too much about them, but this link may be of interest to you.
Cheers,
Dee. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Brachychitons
RE: brachychiton query
| | |
Thanks Dee
I did see that site, but unfortunately it was a case of providing me with more information but no answers.
Cheers
mongoose |
RE: brachychiton query
| | |
- Posted by moreton Bris. Qld. Aust (My Page) on
Sat, Nov 26, 05 at 9:51
Hi Mongoose,
as your post states, your heavy clay soils and under the shade of a euclypt, these 2 factors would limit the tree to not growing any larger as the leaf litter from the euc would be inhibiting any further growth and being in part shade would also have a debilating effect on the tree and as the brach likes only shallow poor soils in open county, not shaded by eucs. I think your brach is very lucky to even survive in the spot/ soil type and wet weather you have had. Good luck. Peter r |
RE: brachychiton query
| | |
Does it have furry leaves with reddish veins - think Br. bidwillii. Slow growing, reddish pink flowers, never gets as big as... Br. discolor, which is a much bigger tree with paler pink flowers.
Tony |
RE: brachychiton query
| | |
- Posted by gonow NSW AUST (My Page) on
Tue, Nov 29, 05 at 4:17
| There are at least a couple of dozen brachychitons many of them shrubs to small trees so perhaps a photo is the way to go |
RE: brachychiton query
| | |
| Australian Species of Brachychiton that I know about: Latin.Name.................Common.Name.......................................Comments
accuminatus..
acerifolius.....................Flame.Tree...............................................Bright.red.flowers
australis..
bidwillii............................................................................................Pink.flowers
compactus..
discolor...........................................................................................Deep.pink.flowers
diversifolius..
paradoxum..
populneus...................Kurrajong;.Black.Kurrajong........................Pale.green.outside;.pale.pink.inside
rupestrus....................Bottle.Tree..................................................White.flowers Cheers,
Frank |
RE: brachychiton query
| | |
| Thanks to deejaus, moreton, wollemia_TC, gonow and Frank_S for helpful advice, This is the first time that I've posted anything on this forum (or any forum for that matter), and it's great to see the way people respond. I'm taking gonow's advice and trying to post some photos which may help with the identification. I only hope they appear. I couldn't seem to manage a group viewing so I'm posting them separately. |
Here is a link that might be useful: View of tree
RE: brachychiton query plus
| | |
That worked but seems rather small (rather like the tree itself).
Now I'll try the flowers |
Here is a link that might be useful: View of flowers
RE: brachychiton query plus more
| | |
| Now for a close-up of the flowers. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Flowers close-up
RE: brachychiton query
| | |
| I suspect yours is one of the hybrids, most likely B. acerifolius x B. populneus. Hybrid kurrajongs were something of a fad in the 50s and 60s but most were not an improvement on the parent species, rather the opposite in fact. |
RE: brachychiton query
| | |
| Hello Mongoose, The leaves seem to be the shiny green of a Flame tree but their having no lobes is an issue. The inflorescences seem to be quite similar in appearance if not colour to Flame trees. I defer to Tony's suggestion that it may be a hybrid. Your area may just be too dry to suit it. Species Flame trees are best suited to wetter conditions. Not relevant to your current query, but incidentally, I have heard that there are also selections of Flame trees now and possibly flower colour may vary in these. Cheers,
Frank |
RE: brachychiton query
| | |
| I agree with Tony, its a cross between Brachychiton populneus and B. acerifolius- most likley B. Jerilderie Red which arose as a chance specimen that naturally 'crossed' in a garden. I have this hybrid at home but they havent flowered yet- they grow like crazy anyway. Other populneus x acerifolius are: B. x roseus and B. 'Froggatt's Pink'. The species B. acerifolius would grow fine in Adelaide as I have seen them doing well in rainfall areas down to 500m per annum. I have select forms of acerifolius- some specimens of acerifolius dont have lobed leaves and some can vary between entire and lobed. There are other species of Brachychitons that are amazing in flower- I intend to graft material in the future so that these can be more commonly grown. Kris |
RE: brachychiton query
| | |
| mongoose, to be certain what the tree is, take a sample of it in a sealed bag to state flora nursery. they deal with natives and are excellent. They are located in Belair National Park. Anything to do with Natives, id see them first, just unfortunate im in QLD now. i actually used to work for them.. have a look at the link.. |
Here is a link that might be useful: state flora
|
|
|
|
