Brachychiton

Brachychiton acerifolius in bloom

Brachychiton is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family ( Malvaceae ). The botanical name (Greek: brachys = short chiton = enclosure ) refers to the typical for the species envelope of the seeds.

Description

There are trees or shrubs that reach heights of growth from 1 to 45 meters. The stems are swollen onion or columnar; sometimes they are multiple shoots, often they are succulent. They shed their leaves from all or part of or are evergreen. The bark is often decades- long green, so alive without forming a corky bark. The alternate standing, stalked leaves are mostly undivided, sometimes three to neunlappig.

They are monoecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( monoecious ). The inflorescences are usually loose panicles with few to many, unisexual and stalked flowers. The perianth consists of four to eight fused to a bell-shaped or tubular shape tepals with detached lobes. The male flowers bear a pedunculated bundles of 10, 15 or 20-32 tubular fused stamens ( androecium ). The female flowers have a free, einfächrigen ovary with a five pen and five-pointed scar. In male flowers, the scar remains undeveloped, the pollen sacs remain underdeveloped, so that the stamens staminodes in female flowers are. The fall out from 2 to 20 cm long, woody and hairy inside Balgfrüchten seeds are from a kräuseligen envelope ( Exotesta ) surrounded.

Systematics and distribution

The compound containing more than 30 species Brachychiton genus is native to Australia and New Guinea. Distribution area is the coastal area of Queensland, in the interior, however, only very few species occur. The native to New Guinea species are very rare and endangered.

In the literature it is often still belonging to the genus of the plant family Stinkbaumgewächse ( Sterculiaceae ) specified, but this now as a subfamily Sterculioideae the mallow ( Malvaceae ) is considered.

Synonyms are: Delabechea Lindl, Poecilodermis Schott, Schott & Endl .. Trichosiphum.

Species

• Brachychiton acerifolius ( A.Cunn. ) F.Muell. ( Syn: . Sterculia acerifolia A.Cunn ex G.Don, German "Australian flame tree ", port. " Árvore do Fogo " ): an up to 35 m high, in culture usually much smaller tree with showy red flowers in the dry season ( " flame Tree " ) in New South Wales and Queensland.
• Brachychiton acuminatus GPGuymer: a 2.5 to 6 m high, white flowering tree from northern Western Australia.
• Brachychiton albidus GPGuymer: a tree from Queensland.
• Brachychiton australis Schott & Endl. ( Syn: . Sterculia trichosiphon Benth, Trichosiphum Schott & Endl australe. ): A succulent, 8 to 25 m tall tree with a columnar or flaschenförmigem strain ( " bottle tree " ) and white to cream flowers from Queensland.
• Brachychiton bidwillii Hook:. , A variable, 2 to 4 m tall tree with pink to red flowers from Queensland.
• Brachychiton carruthersii F.Muell. , A rare and little known species of New Guinea, is on the red list of endangered species.
• Brachychiton chillagoensis GPGuymer: from Queensland.
• Brachychiton collinus GPGuymer: a thick -stemmed, up to 5 tall tree with small and tubular, white to cream flowers from the Northern Territory
• Bracychiton compactus GPGuymer: a succulent, 8 to 15 m tall tree with flaschenförmigem strain ( " bottle tree " ) and cream-colored, pink striped flowers from Queensland and the Northern Territory.
• Brachychiton discolor F.Muell. ( Syn: Brachychiton luridus C.Moore ex F.Muell, Sterculia lurida ( C.Moore ex F.Muell ) F.Muell ex Benth.. .. ): A weakly succulent, thick -stemmed, to 30 m high, in culture, however, usually much smaller tree with magenta flowers from New South Wales and Queensland.
• Brachychiton diversifolius R.Br., is found in Australia
• Brachychiton fitzgeraldianus GPGuymer: Northern Territory and Western Australia.
• Brachychiton grandiflorus G.P.Guymer: Queensland
• Brachychiton gregorii F.Muell. , An approximately 4 m high tree with yellow flowers from the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia.
• Brachychiton incanus R.Br.: a 4 to 6 m tall tree with dark red flowers from north Western Australia.
• Brachychiton megaphyllus GPGuymer: a small (2 m) tree with up to 40 cm large leaves and orange - red flowers of the Northern Territory.
• Brachychiton muellerianus GPGuymer: a tree with magenta flowers from Queensland.
• Brachychiton multicaulis GPGuymer: a multi-stemmed tree with pink, orange or red flowers from the Northern Territory.
• Brachychiton obtusilobus GPGuymer: a 3.5 to 6 m tall tree with cream flowers from northwest Western Australia.
• Brachychiton paradoxus Schott & Endl. ( Syn: Brachychiton ramiflorus R.Br., Sterculia ramiflora ( R.Br. ) Benth. ): A 3 to 5 m tall tree with red flowers from Northern Territory and Queensland

• Brachychiton populneus (Schott & Endl. ) R.Br. ( Syn: Schott & Endl Poecilodermis populnea, Sterculia diversifolia G.Don. ): A 10 to 14 m tall tree with ( in youth ) succulent turnip root and white to cream-colored, red inside spotted flowers from New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. Brachychiton populneus ssp. trilobus GPGuymer: differs by three to fünflappige leaves and is north and further inland spread.

Three other "good" species have not yet been formally described.

• Brachychiton spec. Altanmoui Range: Queensland
• Brachychiton spec. Ormeau: Queensland
• Brachychiton spec. Wangi ( S.E.Pickering 20): Northern Territory

For this purpose are eight wide taxa representing the populations of natural hybrids, but are in the process of speciation.

• Brachychiton × allochrous G.P.Guymer
• Brachychiton × carneus G.P.Guymer
• Brachychiton × excellens G.P.Guymer
• Brachychiton × hirtellus GPGuymer: Northern Territory
• Brachychiton × incarnatus G.P.Guymer
• Brachychiton x roseus G.P.Guymer
• Brachychiton × turgidulus G.P.Guymer
• Brachychiton × vinicolor GPGuymer: New South Wales and Queensland

In addition to some other species Brachychiton australis Brachychiton and represtris in Australia are widespread ornamental plants that are commonly found in parks and gardens. Your leaves and soft wood is also used as cattle feed.