Ormeau myrtle

Brachychiton sp.

This incredible tree is a cousin of the more familiar Queensland Bottle-tree Brachychiton rupestris and other bottle-trees such as the Kurrajong B. It also appears not too dissimilar to the fascinating boab trees found throughout southern Africa, Madagascar and Western Australia. Indeed our native bottle-trees share the same genetic family group as the boabs; the Malvaceae family, and together they all bear varying degrees of plumpness around the waist! Without sounding too discouraging, these guys have a characteristic swollen midriff, which is a fantastic evolutionary trait developed for water storage! Both the boabs and bottle-trees generally live in arid and semi-arid environments and so, perfecting the art of water storage, certainly has its benefits in times of drought while surrounding plant species often die off due to dehydration. Zooming into the Ormeau Valley on the Gold Coast in the s, Janet Hauser, a local botanical illustrator and amateur botanist, discovers what looks like a young Bracychiton, or bottle-tree species, growing in wet sclerophyll forest near a popular route she often took with fellow nature enthusiasts. While observing the plant with fellow amateur botanist Glenn Leiper, a lightbulb suddenly came on in their heads.

Ormeau myrtle

Last weekend I was with two other plant enthusiasts walking through the bush in a remote gorge between the suburban sprawl of Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Our aim was to increase the knowledge of and try to save a little known bottle tree species which occurs no where else on earth. Many of these majestic trees are in land earmarked for a Gravel Quarry so we were counting, measuring and mapping each tree with GPS. While searching for these odd pot bellied trees I noticed a shrub up to 2. The shrub grew on a rocky scree slope on the edge of the gorge under a dry rainforest canopy with emergent Ormeau Bottle Tree, the canopy included Huer Dissilaria baloghoides Yellow Tulip Drypetes deplanchei and Peanut Tree Sterculia quadrifida. At first I thought the shrub was a member of the Gossia genus due to its small leaves and fine reddish bark. On closer examination the new growth had fine hairs and the venation was similar to Cinnamon Myrtle Backhousia mytifolia. The next thought was that it was a mutant small leaved plant of Backhousia mrytifolia the normal form of which were common in other areas of the gorge but not at the site of the mystery shrub. The leaves however were only cm long while the leaves of typical B. Crushing the leaves yielded a typical myrtle or Eucalyptus smell while B. The mystery shrub was also profusely suckering and air layering a process where branches bend down to touch the ground and grow roots to become new trunks this habit was not like the B.

Article Talk.

I have made some interesting observations over the years regarding the Brachychiton endemic to the Ormeau area, Brachychiton sp. It is listed as critically endangered under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and endangered under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act Fairly typical to many of the Brachychiton species, it will go through an array of morphological changes before it reaches mature foliage, which is simple; however, juvenile foliage is deeply lobed with long fingers. Flowers are greenish white and pods are brown and mm long. Pods generally contain one to five bright yellow seeds, but I have observed up to The seeds are covered in a hairy exotesta, the hairs are easily dislodged and cause some irritation. Of the limited population of mature specimens of this species that remain, only a few bear any quantity of seed, and even then, since the beginnings of my observations about 18 years ago, I have seen two fruiting episodes!

This incredible tree is a cousin of the more familiar Queensland Bottle-tree Brachychiton rupestris and other bottle-trees such as the Kurrajong B. It also appears not too dissimilar to the fascinating boab trees found throughout southern Africa, Madagascar and Western Australia. Indeed our native bottle-trees share the same genetic family group as the boabs; the Malvaceae family, and together they all bear varying degrees of plumpness around the waist! Without sounding too discouraging, these guys have a characteristic swollen midriff, which is a fantastic evolutionary trait developed for water storage! Both the boabs and bottle-trees generally live in arid and semi-arid environments and so, perfecting the art of water storage, certainly has its benefits in times of drought while surrounding plant species often die off due to dehydration. Zooming into the Ormeau Valley on the Gold Coast in the s, Janet Hauser, a local botanical illustrator and amateur botanist, discovers what looks like a young Bracychiton, or bottle-tree species, growing in wet sclerophyll forest near a popular route she often took with fellow nature enthusiasts.

Ormeau myrtle

Ormeau, a residential suburb on the Pacific Highway in the Gold Coast hinterland, is 42 km from central Brisbane and 30 km north of Southport. Its northern boundary adjoins Yatala and its southern boundary is the Pimpama River. Ormeau was named after an early sugar plantation c owned by A. The birthplace of Boyd's wife was apparently Ormeau Road, a main south-eastern thoroughfare of Belfast, Ireland, that leads to a bridge and a park of the same name.

Trannyone

Both the boabs and bottle-trees generally live in arid and semi-arid environments and so, perfecting the art of water storage, certainly has its benefits in times of drought while surrounding plant species often die off due to dehydration. Indeed our native bottle-trees share the same genetic family group as the boabs; the Malvaceae family, and together they all bear varying degrees of plumpness around the waist! We acquired the tree a seedling about 15 years ago from a bush care group. A friend and I would like to see the small patch you mentioned in your post, but I could not pin down the location of the reserve. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Where did you get yours from? They produced lovely velvety starfish-like male and female flowers and were pollinated by small insects. On a number of visits to the seeding trees, I had noticed that one tree in particular had been subjected to highly unethical seed collection methods and quantities. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Article Talk. There are plenty of excellent native plant nurseries on the Sunshine Coast that would be more than happy to discuss this with you.

I have made some interesting observations over the years regarding the Brachychiton endemic to the Ormeau area, Brachychiton sp.

I live in Ormeau and I think I have one of these tree growing on the boundary of my property. While observing the plant with fellow amateur botanist Glenn Leiper, a lightbulb suddenly came on in their heads. On a number of visits to the seeding trees, I had noticed that one tree in particular had been subjected to highly unethical seed collection methods and quantities. Contents move to sidebar hide. A good proportion of what is left is attacked by a grub, which eats the seeds before moving onto the next pod. In all aspects of our work at Natura Pacific, we will strive to provide an ecologically sustainable future for generations to come. Notify me of new posts by email. The fruit-pods bore hairy little yellow seeds which were likely dispersed by hungry birds more on this later! From here, researchers wanted to learn more about its ecology so they could help reintroduce it into the wild and boost its population. Interestingly, the seeding specimens all occur on Regional Ecosystem Based on many other seed germination preferences, I considered large quantities of rain just prior to, and into seed maturity, to be favourable. But in the meantime, it is certainly a tree to be celebrated and is already much-loved by local Gold Coasters in the Ormeau region. Flowers are greenish white and pods are brown and mm long. They are the species that help transform one ecosystem into another. Dear Bruce Watson, A friend and I would like to see the small patch you mentioned in your post, but I could not pin down the location of the reserve.