Kurrajong
Bottle Tree
Brachychiton populneus
Photographed in Glendale, Maricopa Co., Arizona. April 2011.
TREE: An attractive but non-native tree widely planted in urban centers
of Arizona and California deserts. Trunk is large in diameter for height of
tree. Smooth and greenish becoming dark gray or brown.
LEAVES: Leaves alternate, dark green, shiny and triangular to elyptic in
shape. Several hybrids are planted with slightly different leaf shapes.
RANGE: Originally from Australia where there are many species. Now
planted in hot desert cities around the World. Escaped seedlings and small
trees are moving into well-watered areas of adjacent Sonoran Desert.
FRUIT: A woody, elyptical capsule that turns dark brown on ripening.
Splits lengthwise to release many seeds.
FLOWERS: Cream to reddish flowers hang in clusters from the branch tips.
Flowers mid spring.
UNARMED. No thorns or spines.