SPECIES: Brachychiton sp. Ormeau — Ormeau Bottle Tree
CLASSIFICATION: Critically endangered
Bottle trees are something else. Characterised by their distinctive bottle-like trunk, the Ormeau Bottle Tree is a canopy rainforest tree found along creeks and rivers in a restricted area around the Gold Coast. It will grow to about 25m tall and live to around 100 years. In the springtime, green and white bell-shaped flowers are grow on the tree. In the summertime, brown boat-shaped pods are produced, which are actually the fruit of the tree.
Sadly only 161 trees remain. Threats to the Ormeau Bottle Tree ae extractive industry (quarrying), rainforest clearing and invastive weeks, which all have an impact on its habitat. Fire and low genetic diversity due to so few trees left in the wild also play a part in its decline. On a positive note though, if it weren't for the voluntary conservation groups, such as Friends of the Ormeau Bottle Tree putting in their best efforts to conserve and recover, the Ormeau Bottle Tree would face certain extinction.
Photo: By Poyt448, Peter Woodard - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57...