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| Category: Tree |
| Family: Malvaceae (w/Bombacaceae & Sterculeacea) |
| Origin: Australia (Australasia) |
| Flower Color: Red |
| Bloomtime: Spring/Summer |
| Synonyms: [Brachychiton acerifolium] |
| Height: 25-40 feet |
| Width: 20-30 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F |
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Brachychiton acerifolius (Flame Tree) - A striking deciduous tree from Australia that grows upright to reach 40-60 feet tall with spread about half its height but is usually seen in California in the 30 to 40 foot range. It has a stout trunk and older stems that have a wrinkled gray colored bark with newer green stems holding shiny bright green large leaves that are 6 to 9 inches long and deeply lobed on younger trees that become more shallowly lobed on older trees. In later spring, often while the tree is still completely leafless, appear the waxy bell shaped red flowers held in pendant clusters that on good years can cover the entire tree. The flowers fall cleanly, creating a nice display on the ground and are followed by 5 inch long dark brown woody fruit pods that split along the seam to display yellow seed. Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally to infrequently when in leaf - blooms best in drier winter years and when not irrigated and can be semi-evergreen with early and continuous fall and winter rains. Drought tolerant once established. Young trees a bit more tender but eventually hardy to about 25° F. A nice clean plant with a compact root system that does not raise pavement or have a lot of leaf drop so useful as a street of patio tree or even as a container specimen or indoor house plant. In Australia, where this tree grows throughout the subtropical regions in coastal shrub and forests along the east coast of Australia from Illawarra to Cape York, it is known as Flame Tree and Illawarra Flame Tree. It is also called Kurrajong, though this name is usually associated with Brachychiton populneus. The name of the genus comes from the Greek words 'brachys' meaning "short" and 'chiton', which means a "tunic" (a loose garment) in reference to the coating on the seed. The specific epithet relates to the foliage appearing similar to that of a maple in the genus Acer. This tree was originally introduced into California by William Walker at his Golden Gate Nursery in San Francisco in 1859 from seed received from John Sutter the year before. There are fairly old specimens of this species in Santa Barbara and when Dr. Francesco Franceschi (Orazio Fenzi) arrived in Santa Barbara in 1895, he noted flowering specimens of this tree growing about in the city, noting those that looked best were the most neglected or were growing in poor or shallow soils.
The information about Brachychiton acerifolius displayed on this page is based on research conducted in our nursery library and from online sources we consider reliable. We will also relate those observations made of this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and in other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has additional information, particularly when they share cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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