Scientific Name: Brachychiton acerifolius

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  • Pronunciation:
    brack-ee-KY-ton ay-sir-ah-FOAL-ee-us
  • Common Name:
    Flame Tree
  • Type:
    Tree
  • Family:
    STERCULIACEAE
  • Status:
    Common
  • Flowers:
    Red, October-January
  • Fruit:
    Follicle 10-18 cm
  • Flowers Color:
    Red
  • Fruit Color:
    Brown
  • Vegetation Type:
    Rainforest
  • Species List:
    Leslie Drive Roundabout, Bush food, Craft, Sunshine Beach Primary, Upper Yandina Creek, Kin Kin Arboretum, Heritage Park,
Cultural Notes

TAKE CARE! Some information about bush foods and medicines may be anecdotal. Correct identification and preparation is essential:

Bush food: seeds edible (once hairs are removed) after roasting and pounding. Coffee substitute

Fibre from inner bark used to make rope and twine.

Identification Notes

Deciduous.||Leaf: simple, entire or lobed, smooth with 5-7 lobes, 4-25 cm long.||Flowers: sessile in clusters.||

Associated Fauna

Butterfly larval food plant: White-banded Plane, (Common Aeroplane), Common Pencil-blue, and Tailed Emperor, pictured. Butterflies: Common Grass Yellow, Shining Pencilled Blue.

Landscaping Notes

Moist well drained soils. ||Often deciduous when flowering. Spent flowers carpet the ground. ||Indoor pot plant potential.||Popular as an ornamental due to spectacular flowering. Some years entire foliage is dropped, others only part of the tree produces flowers.||Propagation easy from seed removed from large boat-shaped leathery pods. Can be grafted or grown from cuttings.||Prefers well-drained sunny position.||