Everything you need to know about our iconic Illawarra flame trees

[Judi Lynn]

IMAGE CREDIT: Tatiana Gerus/Flickr

Everything you need to know about our iconic Illawarra flame trees

BY ANGELA HEATHCOTE | MARCH 19, 2019
The Illawarra flame tree is a native beauty that rivals the jacaranda in spring and summer.


YOU MAY HAVE heard the song Flame Trees by Cold Chisel a number of times, but do you know what it’s really about? Well, it’s an ode to the Illawarra flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolius). A bright red flowering tree that easily “blinds the weary driver”.

These trees have an ancient history in Australia. According to Russell Barrett, a systematic botanist at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, the inner bark of flame trees was used by Aboriginal Australians for making string, fishing nets and traps, as well as being a food resource.

“The large seeds are rich in protein and taste rather like raw peanuts,” Russell says. “They were commonly cooked before they were eaten to ensure that all the irritating hairs were burnt off.”

Found along the east coast of Australia, the flame tree is relatively common in pockets of subtropical rainforest from the Shoalhaven River on the south coast of New South Wales to Cape York in far north Queensland.

More:
https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2019/03/everything-you-need-to-know-about-our-iconic-illawarra-flame-trees/

[GemDigger]

1. A masterpiece of beauty!

Wow, that tree is gorgeous.