Brachychiton discolor
F. Muell.
White kurrajong, Queensland lacebark
(c) ian_mcallan, some rights reserved (CC BY)
(c) Greg Tasney, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Greg Tasney
(c) Lucas Christofides, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Lucas Christofides
What to Eat
Edible parts: Seeds
Brachychiton discolor is widely planted as an ornamental tree. The wood is used to make shields by Indigenous Australians. The roasted seeds are edible to humans.
Known Hazards
Where to Find It
A subtropical plant. It is native to E and N Australia. They can grow in a range of soils and climates. It needs well drained soil. It can grow in full sunlight. It can stand light frosts. It grows up to 1,500 m above sea level. Melbourne Botanical gardens. It suits hardiness zones 9-11.
Africa, Asia, Australia*, East Africa, Indonesia, Mozambique, SE Asia, Tasmania, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A medium sized tree. It grows 10-24 m high. It can spread 6-8 m wide. It has a stout trunk. The bark is greenish. The young branches are hairy. It loses its leaves for a short time. The leaves have 3-7 lobes and are dull green. They are hairy and 10-20 cm long by 10-20 cm wide. The flowers are dull pink or red. They are bell shaped. They are 3 cm long. They occur in small clusters. The fruit are boat shaped follicles. They are brown and woody and 7-12 cm long.
How to Grow
Plants can be grown from seed or grafting. Seed remain viable for several years.
Propagation: Seed - it stores well and germinates easily, especially if pre-soaked for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. The seed stores well at room temperatures - 15 year old seed had a 54% germination rate.
Other Uses
A strong and valuable fibre is obtained from the inner bark. The white wood is soft when first cut, but becomes hard upon drying. It is not durable, but splits easily. It makes good shingles.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Brachychiton discolor is a rainforest tree of eastern Australia. It grows in drier rainforest areas. Scattered from Paterson, New South Wales (32° S) to Mackay, Queensland (21° S). There is also an isolated community of these trees at Cape York Peninsula. Common names include lacebark tree, lace kurrajong, pink kurrajong, scrub bottle tree, white kurrajong, hat tree and sycamore.
Production
Plants are slow growing.
Notes
There are about 30 Brachychiton species. Most are in Australia. Also put in the family Sterculiaceae.
