Author Topic: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)  (Read 9447 times)

Mike T

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Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« on: April 19, 2013, 06:10:31 AM »
Spanning almost 2000 miles along the Australian east coast the Illawarra flame trees have seasonal blazing red floral displays when all the leaves are dropped.This most stunning of trees also has edible seeds that were roasted and appreciated by the aboriginal people.This food source has almost been forgotten and the tree dominated street plantings in many towns.





These pix don't do it justice.

So what do those edible seeds look like? See for yourself in that handsome paw below some park seeds picked up yesterday.





Jimmy Barnes with Cold chisel even sang a song called Flame Trees but not everyone can understand the scottish/australian drawl.
Jimmy Barnes - Flame Trees

Vlk

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #1 on: April 19, 2013, 06:29:46 AM »
Never heard of this tree. Very beautiful. :-) Thanks for sharing!
Durian & avocado lover

ScottR

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #2 on: April 19, 2013, 11:44:35 AM »
Wow, that second pic is nice Mike, flame tree with jacaranda behind, I didn't know that the seeds of the flame tree were edible, are all the brachychiton species edible.

JF

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #3 on: April 19, 2013, 12:11:29 PM »
My Filipino friend calls the flamboyant flame tree. Does this tree flower in Sydney?? Thanks for sharing.

bangkok

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #4 on: April 19, 2013, 01:07:32 PM »
I just bought a red coral tree which almost looks the same from a distance. I grow it in a big pot.

The seeds of that one are very poisonous so i have to make sure they are not in my garden because a dog might eat them.


Zambezi

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #5 on: April 19, 2013, 01:33:28 PM »
Wow....Beautiful tree Mike...Love the second one, with the  full grown Jacaranda...

phantomcrab

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #6 on: April 19, 2013, 02:22:00 PM »
This is a really beautiful tree and I had no idea the seeds were edible. There are a few Brachychiton growing in my area and I don't know why it isn't more commonly planted as an ornamental. It seems very drought tolerant. I really like the swollen trunks.
Richard

Mike T

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #7 on: April 19, 2013, 03:43:10 PM »
GT many small towns have streets lined with jacarandas and flame trees.The soft purple and striking red are a real eye opener.The song is about oin home to a tiny and dull country town and even the flame trees can't brighten it up.They are naturally found north and south of Sydney and extend right throuh my area.The flame trees put on displays along this entire area.They are in the kurrajong or bottle tree group and younger trees can have bulbous green trunks. 

Zambezi

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #8 on: April 19, 2013, 04:25:37 PM »
Mike T,

Thanks for the info.. It reminds me of home. We have the same in Africa.. the streets/roads are lined with jacaranda and red/yellow flowering flame trees.  They are a sight to see when in full bloom, and form a beautiful carpet of color on the ground too..:)

But i believe our red trees are royal poinciana or the red orchard trees(Bauhinia)... I may be wrong about the names. I don't think you can eat the seeds though.
The Mexican red bird of paradise flowers, here in Texas, reminds me of them.

Thanks for the Nostalgia... :)

fruitlovers

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #9 on: April 19, 2013, 04:38:14 PM »
My Filipino friend calls the flamboyant flame tree. Does this tree flower in Sydney?? Thanks for sharing.

JF and GreenThumb, I think you may be confused with Spathodea campanulata, also called Flamboyant tree, or African Tulip tree. They grow wild in in Hawaii, and many tropical places, and are a god-awful weed here, even though pretty, they just take over as seeds are wind borne and spread very rapidly.
There is another tree called flamboyant and that is Delonix regia, also called Royal Poinciana. That also grows here, is spectacularly colored, but only on dry side of the islands. This one is not weedy and is more valued.
Brachychitron that Mike posted about i haven't seen here, at least not yet.
Oscar

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #10 on: April 19, 2013, 04:43:39 PM »
GT poincianas are common street trees here as well.While their displays are quite colorful they are not as vibrant as the illawarra flame trees.
When I travel overseas I don't often see trees with flowering displays quite the same as the golden pendas,Evodiellas and a variety of proteads and myrtaceae I see at home.

fruitlovers

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #11 on: April 19, 2013, 04:51:52 PM »
GT poincianas are common street trees here as well.While their displays are quite colorful they are not as vibrant as the illawarra flame trees.
When I travel overseas I don't often see trees with flowering displays quite the same as the golden pendas,Evodiellas and a variety of proteads and myrtaceae I see at home.

Very colorful here are also the Tabebuias. They come in many colors, but most common here is the Donald Smithii, which is very bright yellow. Another bright flowering tree here is the Cassia, most common being the multi colored hybrid being called Rainbow Shower tree.
Oscar

bangkok

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2013, 05:02:43 PM »
Wow i like those colorfull tree's! In Thailand we have many of them but they flower very short period. 1 or 2 weeks and the show is over.

Which spectacular tree flowers for a long time?

Mike T

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #13 on: April 19, 2013, 05:10:25 PM »
Oscar in my suburb there are lines of yellow and pink tabibuias also on a few streets but the cassias like golden showers are more common in yards like my neighbor's.They get pretty big.The leaves of one type,perhaps a form of Senna surratensis are collected bby asian people locally and boiled into submission.The disagreeable green slurry is used in a variety of dishes.
Africal tulips are a serious pest here and some people call them african flame trees.

fruitlovers

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #14 on: April 19, 2013, 05:21:58 PM »
The yellow african tulip is not weedy and sometimes planted in gardens. It's the orange-reddish one that produces tons of seed borne seeds.
How long does that red Brachychitron take to flower from seed?
Oscar

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #15 on: April 19, 2013, 05:51:44 PM »
The yellow african tulip is not weedy and sometimes planted in gardens. It's the orange-reddish one that produces tons of seed borne seeds.
How long does that red Brachychitron take to flower from seed?

Oscar my experience with the yellow African tree is that it is recessive & all seed planted came orange.  The yellow is easily propagated from root cuttings. Thus if planted will be the source of more noxious orange weed trees.
rich

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #16 on: April 19, 2013, 06:45:27 PM »
The yellow african tulip is not weedy and sometimes planted in gardens. It's the orange-reddish one that produces tons of seed borne seeds.
How long does that red Brachychitron take to flower from seed?

Oscar my experience with the yellow African tree is that it is recessive & all seed planted came orange.  The yellow is easily propagated from root cuttings. Thus if planted will be the source of more noxious orange weed trees.
rich

I've heard, but don't know if it's true, that they yellow colored African tulip tree makes little or no seeds.
Oscar

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #17 on: April 19, 2013, 08:19:06 PM »
My Filipino friend calls the flamboyant flame tree. Does this tree flower in Sydney?? Thanks for sharing.

JF and GreenThumb, I think you may be confused with Spathodea campanulata, also called Flamboyant tree, or African Tulip tree. They grow wild in in Hawaii, and many tropical places, and are a god-awful weed here, even though pretty, they just take over as seeds are wind borne and spread very rapidly.
There is another tree called flamboyant and that is Delonix regia, also called Royal Poinciana. That also grows here, is spectacularly colored, but only on dry side of the islands. This one is not weedy and is more valued.
Brachychitron that Mike posted about i haven't seen here, at least not yet.

Hi Oscar
Royal poinciana are called Flamboyant in the Cuba.

Mike T

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #18 on: April 19, 2013, 09:28:32 PM »
I had a big poinciana (Delonix regia) in my yard when I first moved in 12 years ago and I couldn't get rid of it fast enough and the seeds are still sprouting.They do like it drier but a strong dry season has the same effect.Their display is far more modest that the illawarra flame and golden penda for that matter.There are yellow and orange forms but they are quite rare here.
Many of the brachychitons and their allies have large pods with edible seeds that are nutty when roasted.

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #19 on: April 19, 2013, 10:24:49 PM »
Thanks for posting the pictures, it is a really beautiful tree. I concur with others that the picture of it and the Jacaranda is quite striking.

Cape coral has tons of Jacaranda, Bauhinia and Royal Poinciana planted along major roadways (along with the usual suspects of Pine and Bald cypress), makes for some really nice drives for the times they individually or sometimes concurrently bloom.
- Colin

fruitlovers

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #20 on: April 19, 2013, 10:48:08 PM »
I had a big poinciana (Delonix regia) in my yard when I first moved in 12 years ago and I couldn't get rid of it fast enough and the seeds are still sprouting.They do like it drier but a strong dry season has the same effect.Their display is far more modest that the illawarra flame and golden penda for that matter.There are yellow and orange forms but they are quite rare here.
Many of the brachychitons and their allies have large pods with edible seeds that are nutty when roasted.

What is golden penda? Please give latin name.
Jacaranda also does not flower very well on rainy side of this island. On dry side (Kona) it is spectacular.
Spectacular flowering show right now is being given by my Pride of Burma tree (Amherstia nobilis). Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia hyb.) next to it is always flowering.
Oscar

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #21 on: April 19, 2013, 11:15:30 PM »



Golden Penda is Xanthostemon chrysanthus which is the floral emblem of Cairns City.Like many local genera in Myrtaceae the flowers are briht and attractive to birds.

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #22 on: April 20, 2013, 07:23:05 AM »
We get great shows from Poincianas here, but they dont come close to the flame tree.
I harvest pods occasionally and use them in breads. They have a nutty coffee kinda thing about them. They have irritant hairs amongst the seeds which need flame roasting or seperation to make them eatable.
The one flowering tree that does throw down the gauntlet is the other delonix, the gold one. Its enormous height helps with its wow factor!
They have made many crosses with lacebark, kurrajong and bidwillii, some of which are nice. I have grafted flame tree and bidwillii. I had a 'clara belle' on the back verge, but some mug stomped it dead :(

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #23 on: April 20, 2013, 11:32:12 AM »
My Filipino friend calls the flamboyant flame tree. Does this tree flower in Sydney?? Thanks for sharing.

JF and GreenThumb, I think you may be confused with Spathodea campanulata, also called Flamboyant tree, or African Tulip tree. They grow wild in in Hawaii, and many tropical places, and are a god-awful weed here, even though pretty, they just take over as seeds are wind borne and spread very rapidly.
There is another tree called flamboyant and that is Delonix regia, also called Royal Poinciana. That also grows here, is spectacularly colored, but only on dry side of the islands. This one is not weedy and is more valued.
Brachychitron that Mike posted about i haven't seen here, at least not yet.

Hey Oscar,
I mistyped the name of the orchid tree,  ;D... But I was talking about the royal poinciana or the red orchid trees(Bauhinia).  Yes, the Royal poinciana (Delonix regia) is called Flamboyant here. The Red orchid trees(Bauhinia), also has really pretty flowers. This is not the same as the African tulip tree.

I do agree with Mike... the illawarra flame does outdo them in flower power,  in sheer mass and vibrant color. 

fruitlovers

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Re: Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
« Reply #24 on: April 20, 2013, 05:28:19 PM »
What about planting side by side a whole row of one each of alternating colors of some of these different flame trees? Would people driving by be blinded?  :o ;)
Oscar