Brachychiton acerifolium, Illawarra Flame Tree (growing beside the sugarcane fields of the North Coast)
Flame tree flower detail
Seed pods
The term local legend or local hero is often applied to a sportsperson or entertainer who has had a successful career interstate or overseas, so perhaps the same could be applied to this tree from my district which has gained popularity far and wide. Brachychiton is derived from the Greek brachy meaning short and chiton meaning a covering or tunic, a reference to the seeds which are covered in yellow hairs. Acerifolium means the leaves are similar to a Maple leaf. This tree is unique in that it has a mind of its own as to whether it wants to flower or not. Normally it loses its leaves in late November and flowers in December and January. Sometimes it decides not to do this and sometimes half the tree retains leaves and displays half flowers. On the steep escarpment behind where I live and deep in the rainforest , the bright red flowers stand out like a beacon amongst all the dark green. The tree has made a successful transition to city gardens and is often planted alongside a Jacaranda which flowers at the same time. This year has been a great one for flowering so perhaps the rain fell at the right time to act as a trigger. When flowering does finish, the hanging seed pods are quite decorative also, being boat shaped and opening along one side they provide an opportunity to give an interesting nature lesson for children.
Do the ripe seed pods contain fluffy cotton? We have a tree similar to this which gives silk cotton to make pillows.
ReplyDeleteIan, back in Connecticut I had a hedgerow of shrubs like this and it was a brilliant mass of color. I especially like them at sunrise, because it gave the appearance that they were on fire.
ReplyDeleteYour Flame tree description reads very similar to our Silk Cotton tree , Bombax malabaricum, which too sheds all its leaves (which, incidentally, are not maple leaf shaped) in early summer, and becomes covered in red flowers. The fruit/seed pod which is similar, too, is packed with seeds having a halo of soft, silky (white, not yellow!) floss known as Indian kapok. The bursting of seed pods and the wind blowing away a cloud of silk cotton is a sight to behold in Goa!
ReplyDeleteWow!! I never seen the flame tree, it´s a nice and weird tree. I like it
ReplyDeleteRegards ;)
Could you possibly tell me how old the Australian Flame Tree has to be, to begin flowering? I have a 4 year old tree that still has not decided to flower!
ReplyDeleteAnd she is growing happily taller and taller.
Hi Jo,
ReplyDeleteI think it should flower at about 10 years old. They grow very rapidly in the first few years and flower when quite tall. Flowering is not always reliable though. It depends on seasonal temperatures and rainfall.
cheers
Ian
Hi there Ian, I have an Illawarra Flame tree in the back yard is roughly 25 metres tall, we've been at the house for 4 years and have only seen it fully flower once (the first year) subsequent years no massive leaf drop and only very very min flower, which you can hardly see because the leaves are still there... live on the lower north shore of Sydney .. there are others in the neighbourhood that have flowered.. please help, can we do anything to assist the flowering process as that first year when we moved in was spectacular :-(
ReplyDeleteHi Belle,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fairly typical of the Flame tree. If you give it a good dose of fertilizer and regular watering it may respond by flowering but they usually flower when they decide.cheers Ian
I have have an Illawarra flame tree in the garden and it has been there atleast 20 years it has never flowered WHY???
ReplyDeleteAnn They are magnificent this year in the Illawarra after all the rain from last summer. You didn't give your location
ReplyDeleteHi Ian
ReplyDeleteI collected some seed pods from a tree in stewart st wollongong, what do I need to do to be able to plant these and produce a beautiful
tree????? I want this to work!!!!!
Re Seed pods need to turn black and partly open before they are mature enough to extract seeds.This may takes ome time after flowering
ReplyDeleteHi Ian, I'm in So. California, very similar climate to your own. I was told the roots from a flame tree grew in a ball, like a palm, but I had a nasty big bugger growing off and would have lifted my sidewalk. Nothing my Sazall couldn't handle! And it had no effect on the tree, are they suppose to grow in a ball? And if I wanted to try to grow another from my seed pods how long should I let them stay on the tree? They are unfortunately hanging right in front of the sidewalk! Thanks for your time.
ReplyDeleteStuart, Thanks for your comment. No it does not have a root ball like a palm tree. It is a rainforest tree with shallow spreading roots. Seed pods must turn black and open partly before ready for planting
ReplyDeleteCheers
Ian
Hi Ian, Could you please tell me how long do the flame trees live for? I live in central Queensland and after flowering last year my tree never grew back it's leaves. I'm now starting to think that it could have died. It's around 50 years old I've been told. It has flowered every year in the 14 years that I've been here and always quickly grew back it's leaves within weeks afterwards. Could it have died because of the extreme heat that we had or it's age? or is it possible that it's still alive and will decide to grow back it's leaves soon. (hopefully)
ReplyDeleteThanks. Sue
Hi Sue,
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't sound very promising that it will recover, though it is more likely that drought may have affected it more than heat. It is a rainforest tree and used to a cool root run. Hope it comes back.
regards
Ian