Brachychiton gregorii

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Desert kurrajong
Brachychiton gregorii habit.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Brachychiton
Species:
B. gregorii
Binomial name
Brachychiton gregorii
F.Muell., 1862
Brachychiton gregorii foliage Brachychiton gregorii foliage.jpg
Brachychiton gregorii foliage
Brachychiton gregorii fruit Brachychiton gregorii fruit.jpg
Brachychiton gregorii fruit

Brachychiton gregorii, commonly known as the desert kurrajong, [1] [2] is a small tree of the genus Brachychiton found in northern and western Australia. [3] It was originally classified in the family Sterculiaceae, which is now within Malvaceae. [lower-alpha 1]

Contents

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1862 as part of the work Thalamiflorae. The Plants Indigenous to the Colony of Victoria. Several synonyms exist for the plant including; Clompanus gregorii, Brachychiton acerifolius var. gregorii, Sterculia diversifolia var. occidentalis, Sterculia gregorii and Brachychiton populneus var. occidentalis. [5]

The species name honours the explorer Augustus Charles Gregory who later became surveyor-general. [2]

Description

The tree typically grows to a height of around 3 to 12 metres (10 to 39 ft) [1] with a canopy width of around 2 to 5 m (7 to 16 ft). [6] The evergreen leaves reach up to 20 centimetres (8 in) in length and have three or five lobes on a long stalk. The leaves are shed in the dry months. It flowers between October and December producing inflorescences with bell-shaped pale-yellow flowers with a reddish margin. Following flowering black woody seed pods form that are up to around to 5 cm (2 in) in length and contain many seeds. [2]

Distribution

It has a scattered distribution in arid areas including the north western corner of South Australia where it is found on rock ridges, slopes and sand dunes. It is also found in the Northern Territory [2] and Western Australia where it is scattered throughout the Goldfields, Pilbara and Mid West regions on red sandy or loamy soils. [1]

Ecology

Within its range, this tree is often associated with granite outcrops. The mistletoe Amyema benthamii is often found as a parasite on this species, introduced by a bird wiping its defecation on a branch, and this is eaten by the caterpillar phase of the moth species Comocrus behri . [7]

Uses

The tree is sold commercially in seed form [8] or as a seedling. It is suitable for arid areas as it is drought resistant once established; it is moderately frost tolerant, and can grow in full sun or part shade in well-drained soils. [6] It forms a large tuber from a young age and can be cultivated as a succulent bonsai. [8]

Mature tree in Western Australia, circa 1920 Kurrajong in Primer of Forestry Poole 1922.png
Mature tree in Western Australia, circa 1920

The wood is spongy, making it suitable for use as wood pulp. The low height and much divided branches produce a dense crown that gives good shade. A strong fibre can be obtained from the cambium layer. [9]

Notes

  1. The genus Brachychiton was traditionally placed in the family Sterculiaceae, but that family, along with Bombacaceae and Tiliaceae, has been found to be polyphyletic and is now sunk into a more broadly-defined Malvaceae [4]

Related Research Articles

Sterculiaceae was a family of flowering plant based on the genus Sterculia. Genera formerly included in Sterculiaceae are now placed in the family Malvaceae, in the subfamilies: Byttnerioideae, Dombeyoideae, Helicteroideae and Sterculioideae.

<i>Brachychiton</i> Genus of flowering plants

Brachychiton is a genus of 31 species of trees and large shrubs, native to Australia and New Guinea. Fossils from New South Wales and New Zealand are estimated to be 50 million years old, corresponding to the Paleogene.

<i>Brachychiton acerifolius</i> Species of tree in the family Malvaceae

Brachychiton acerifolius is a large tree of the family Malvaceae endemic to tropical and subtropical regions on the east coast of Australia. It is famous for the bright red bell-shaped flowers that often cover the whole tree when it is leafless. It is commonly known as the flame tree, Illawarra flame tree, lacebark tree, or kurrajong.

<i>Eucalyptus eremophila</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus eremophila, commonly known as the sand mallet or tall sand mallee, is a species of mallet that is endemic to semi-arid regions of Western Australia. It has smooth pale brown and greyish bark, narrow lance-shaped to elliptical adult leaves, flower buds arranged in groups of between seven and eleven with an elongated operculum, and cup-shaped to barrel-shaped fruit.

<i>Sterculia quadrifida</i> Species of plant in the family Malvaceae

Sterculia quadrifida, also known as the peanut tree, monkey nut or red-fruited kurrajong is a small tree that grows in the rainforests, vine thickets, and gallery forests of New Guinea and northern Australia.

<i>Brachychiton rupestris</i> Tree in the family Malvaceae native to Queensland, Australia

Brachychiton rupestris is a tree in the family Malvaceae, endemic to Queensland, Australia. Described by Sir Thomas Mitchell and John Lindley in 1848, it earned its name from its bulbous trunk, which can be up to 3.5 metres (11 ft) in diameter at breast height (DBH). Reaching around 10–25 metres (33–82 ft) high, the Queensland bottle tree is deciduous, losing its leaves seasonally, between September and December. The leaves are simple or divided, with one or more narrow leaf blades up to 11 centimetres (4 in) long and 2 centimetres (0.8 in) wide. Cream-coloured flowers appear from September to November, and are followed by woody, boat-shaped follicles that ripen from November to May. No subspecies are recognised.

<i>Brachychiton populneus</i> Species of tree

Brachychiton populneus, commonly known as the kurrajong, is a small to medium-sized tree found naturally in Australia in a diversity of habitats from wetter coastal districts to semi-arid interiors of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Carrejun and carrejan were the indigenous names of trees in the foothills of the Blue Mountains near Sydney, and the bark was used for twine and fishing lines. The extended trunk is a water storage device for survival in a warm dry climate. The bell-shaped flowers are variable in colour while the leaves vary considerably in shape. The leaves are either simple and pointed, or may be 3–9 lobed. Saplings grow from a drought and fire resistant tap-rooted tuber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sterculioideae</span> Subfamily of trees and shrubs

Sterculioideae is a subfamily of the family Malvaceae containing evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs.

<i>Brachychiton bidwillii</i> Species of tree

Brachychiton bidwillii, commonly known as the dwarf kurrajong or little kurrajong, is a small tree of the genus Brachychiton found in tropical areas of eastern Australia. It was originally classified in the family Sterculiaceae, which is now within Malvaceae.

Brachychiton paradoxus, commonly known as the red-flowered kurrajong, is a small tree of the genus Brachychiton found in northern Australia. It was originally classified in the family Sterculiaceae, which is now within Malvaceae.

<i>Brachychiton diversifolius</i> Species of tree

Brachychiton diversifolius, commonly known as the northern kurrajong, is a small tree of the genus Brachychiton found in northern Australia. It was originally classified in the family Sterculiaceae, which is now within Malvaceae.

Franciscodendron is a monotypic genus in the subfamily Sterculioideae within the family Malvaceae. The single species, Franciscodendron laurifolium, commonly known as tulip sterculia, tulip kurrajong or cabbage crowsfoot, is a tree native to Australia.

Brachychiton compactus is a tree of the genus Brachychiton found in northeastern Australia. It is only found in the vicinity of Proserpine in Central Queensland.

<i>Brachychiton australis</i> Species of tree

Brachychiton australis, commonly known as the broad-leaved bottle tree, is a small tree of the genus Brachychiton found in eastern Australia. It was originally classified in the family Sterculiaceae, which is now within Malvaceae.

<i>Brachychiton megaphyllus</i> Species of tree

Brachychiton megaphyllus, commonly known as the red-flowering kurrajong, is a tree of the genus Brachychiton found in northern Australia.

Brachychiton spectabilis is a tree of the genus Brachychiton found in northern Australia. It was described by Gordon Guymer in 1988.

Brachychiton multicaulis is a tree of the genus Brachychiton found in northern Australia. It was described in 1988.

<i>Acacia ramulosa</i> Species of plant

Acacia ramulosa, commonly known as horse mulga or bowgada wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae endemic to arid areas of Australia.

<i>Acacia trachycarpa</i> Species of legume

Acacia trachycarpa, commonly known as minni ritchi, curly-bark tree, sweet-scented minni ritchi or Pilbara minni ritchi, is a shrub or tree belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is native to arid and semi-arid areas of Western Australia.

<i>Brachychiton viscidulus</i> Species of plant

Brachychiton viscidulus is a plant in the Malvaceae family, native to Western Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Brachychiton gregorii". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Brachychiton gregorii (Sterculiaceae) Desert Kurrajong". Seeds of South Australia. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  3. "Brachychiton gregorii". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  4. Stevens, Peter F. (29 January 2015). "Angiosperm Phylogeny Website" . Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  5. "Brachychiton gregorii F.Muell". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility . Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Brachychiton gregorii". Australian Native Plants. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  7. Nikulinsky, P.; Hopper, S.D. (2008). Life on the rocks : the art of survival (Revised ed.). Fremantle Press. pp. 134–35. ISBN   9781921361289.
  8. 1 2 "Brachychiton gregorii – Desert Kurrajong (seed)". Herbalistics. September 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  9. Lane-Poole, C. E. (1922). A primer of forestry, with illustrations of the principal forest trees of Western Australia. Perth: F.W. Simpson, government printer. p.  44. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.61019. hdl:2027/uiug.30112041668135.