Ormeau myrtle

This incredible tree is a cousin of the more familiar Queensland Bottle-tree Brachychiton rupestris and ormeau myrtle bottle-trees such as the Kurrajong B.

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!

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. The bark of this tree was smooth to finely fibrous while the bark of B. A Myrtaceae taxomomist from the Queensland Herbarium has confirmed this shrub as a probable species new to science.

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. Fruiting pods appear from January to February, these are 3 cm long, brown, ormeau myrtle, and boat-shaped.

Brachychiton sp. Ormeau is a rare and endangered rainforest tree found in Queensland , Australia. A species of tree belonging to the genus Brachychiton , it reaches up to 25 metres in height. The leaves are dropped during the dry season, a time of year the species favours for reproduction, and return as pale to coppery coloured new growth. The flowering period is during September, the profuse display of green to white bell-shaped flowers appearing at the terminus of the branches;the width of each flower is around 10 mm.

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. Ormeau was one of the numerous stopping places on the South Coast railway , set among farms that were transferring from sugar, maize and arrowroot to dairying. A school, opened in , was on the South Coast road just north of Pimpama Creek. Situated between Yatala which had a hotel and a store and Pimpama, Ormeau had few facilities. In , apart from farmers and a couple of banana growers, only a sawmill and the school were recorded in the post office directory. In the mids the Norfolk Village estate also known as Cupania was mapped out, but little significant development occurred until the early s.

Ormeau myrtle

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.

Reverse phone call

The bark of this tree was smooth to finely fibrous while the bark of B. 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. 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. Brachychiton sp. Keen to know how you can get involved in restoring the precious bottle-tree habitat in the Ormeau Valley? This all led to an exciting survey conducted in by Healthy Land and Water. Could that very tree, a tree which always did seem a bit out-of-place to the group, in fact be a mature specimen of the young bottle-tree they were looking at at their feet? Please refrain from collecting from the wild. Pioneer species are sort of ecosystem engineers in nature. They are the species that help transform one ecosystem into another. Brachychiton sp. He might be able to assist you. Well, a gentleman by the name of Lloyd Bird collected the first specimens of the tree with the group and sent them off to the Queensland Herbarium, where experienced botanist Dr Gordon Guymer pondered over it. 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.

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.

After testing and comparing it with other bottle-tree specimens Dr Guymer is the Queensland expert on these trees it was decided by the experts, that what had just been found, not far from the urban center of the sprawling Gold Coast, was absolutely a brand new species to science! One, that the tree was doing better than originally thought during the s and s, with over juvenile trees now being found during the latest survey, which added to the adult trees known to exist prior. The federal government has named this tree as one of thirty plant species to be the given the highest priority for protection from extinction, and that its status be improved by the year Can I send you some pictures for identification? Keen to know how you can get involved in restoring the precious bottle-tree habitat in the Ormeau Valley? Duck-billed Platypus — Back from the Brink. Species Profile and Threats Database. A bumper year of seed production was followed by what would appear to be extremely unfavourable recruitment conditions. While observing the plant with fellow amateur botanist Glenn Leiper, a lightbulb suddenly came on in their heads. All of my trials were conducted outdoors in the full weather in a rat proof situation. Crushing the leaves yielded a typical myrtle or Eucalyptus smell while B. More on this later!