Eucalyptus macrocarpa (Mottlecah) fruit

This beautiful shrubby tree has been the subject of some comments on an earlier article that I wrote. I responded to one reader who asked about the life span and hardiness of the tree…

“I can tell you from experience that Eucalyptus macrocarpa is a long lived plant. One that I know, at the end of a school playground, continues even now after 25+ years of being trampled, swung in, climbed through, footballs thrown in etc. Another near where I live is about 23 years old. These are mallee plants ie, shoot from the base when broken or cut or burnt, and have multiple stems. They need good drainage and airflow around them otherwise they tend to suffer from sooty mould. Eucalyptus macrocarpa is well worth trying for the flower display. It would make good large pot plants if you cannot give it the conditions that is needed.”

Another reader’s comment would interest Australian plant growers.

From Ron…”I have grown Eucalyptus macrocarpa in my garden for more than 20 years. They seem to thrive on the hot/dry summers we have here in Escondido, CA. (We only average about 12 inches (300mm) of rainfall a year and recently we haven’t even seen that. Our rainy season in in the fall and winter.)

I rarely ever water the plants and they are very adapted to drought once established. My trees (very shrubby, multibranched, 12ft.(4metres) high) are absolutely beautiful. Although the oldest of my 3 trees is a little more than 20 years old, I know of several in San Diego (about 20 minutes from my house) that are more than 35 years old and I suspect thay live a lot longer than that.
So they have a very long lifespan.”

The conditions sound like mine here except that we are experiencing drought at the moment and have no subsoil moisture. Even the native plants are struggling. (The photo above shows some sooty mould on the leaves.)

More on this plant here.

Grevillea robusta

These make good windbreak and screening plants. Many are grown in house yards but as they can be rather large need to be kept away from the house. A general rule is that the tree needs to be as far from the house as the tree’s ultimate height.

Grevillea robusta is the plant onto which other species of grevillea are grafted.

Grevillea robusta

Brachychiton diversifolius (Kurrajong)

This is a tree of lower rainfall areas and quite harsh summer conditions, appearing in western New South Wales.

The flowers are like small bells in this delightful bright pink colour, followed by black boat shaped seed pods. Last week there was a carpet of spent flowers under the canopy of the tree.

Brachychiton diversifolius (Kurrajong)

Brachychiton diversifolius (Kurrajong) blossom

Brachychiton rupestris

The trunks of the trees are prominently bottle shaped with large specimens having a diameter up to 2m (6 feet). The tree is hardy in most areas once established and of course would appreciate some water during hot dry periods. Young trees are slow growing and make attractive and unusual pot plants for some years.

This tree is an important fodder tree for stock during dry periods. The Aborigines ate the young roots and seeds either raw or roasted.

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Brachychiton populneus (Kurrajong)

These trees are semi deciduous, losing their leaves just before flowering. This particular species has bell shaped cream flowers, blotched with red on the inside. Young leaves are tinged with pink. They are very easy to grow and tolerate a wide range of climatic conditions and soils. Although very drought tolerant, they appreciate water during the summer. This species is frost hardy.

Because they are slow growing while young, they make excellent pot plants and are used for indoor decorations.

Further information can be found here.

Eucalyptus leucoxylon (South Australian Blue Gum)

This is one of those situations where one cannot use the common name for the species. Blue gum is the common name given to a few Eucalypts. The Tasmanian Blue Gum is Eucalyptus globulus. The Victorian Blue Gum is Eucalyptus globulus subspecies bicostata. The Sydney Blue Gum is Eucalyptus saligna.

This photo has Little Wattle Birds in the canopy of the tree. We were visiting a garden and sitting outside having a cuppa watching all this bird activity.

• Acacia pycnantha (Golden Wattle) Australia’s floral emblem. 4-8m high in ideal conditions.
• Acacia saligna (Golden Wreath Wattle) 3-8m high.
• Acacia baileyana (Cootamundra Wattle) to 6m. Amazingly, this does well here.
• Eucalyptus leucoxylon forms
• Eucalyptus diversifolia
• Eucalyptus porosa
• Eucalyptus stricklandii
• Eucalyptus spathulata
• Eucalyptus woodwardii
• Eucalyptus torquata (Coral Gum)
• Eucalyptus platypus
• Eucalyptus macrocarpa (Rose of the West or Mottlecah)
• Eucalyptus ficifolia (Western Australian Flowering Gum)
• Eucalyptus erythrocorys (Red Cap Gum)
• Eucalyptus eremophila
• Eucalyptus forrestiana (Fuschia Gum)
• Eucalyptus pyriformis (Pear Gum)
• Eucalyptus sideroxylon (Iron Bark)
• Grevillea robusta
• Santalum acuminatum (Wild Peach, Quandong)

This is not an exhaustive list. If you know of more species to add to this list (ie. dryland planting plus alkaline soil), let me know, please.

According to the Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants (Elliot and Jones), the Kurrajong is a widespread tree often found in rocky areas but also extending along river banks and plains in a variety of soils. The tree makes an excellent shelter belt and shade tree for home gardens, parks and street planting.

The foliage is liked by stock. Young leaves are tinged with pink. The trunk has grey bark, although it is green when young. Flowers are 1-2 cm long, bell-shaped pink or cream with red flecks and blotches inside the bloom.

The roots of the tree were eaten by Aborigines. The fibres of the trunk were used for making fish nets and twine. Seedlings make excellent indoor pot plants.

Kurrajong are easy to grow although they may be slow whilst young, hence their success as potted plants. They respond well to slow release fertilisers and are drought tolerant. They do appreciate water during dry periods. They are frost hardy. The trees drop their leaves just before flowering. They can be transplanted readily.

This species is grown in the southern states of the USA.

The tree is grown quite widely in Australia, including many areas of Southern Australia. The foliage has often been used as fodder for farm animals. They are often planted as ornamental trees in public parks. In summer the trees have clusters of creamy grey flowers which have red splotches all over the cream interior of the bell shaped flowers. The seeds are found in green seed pods, which gradually turn brown and then split open with yellow seeds.

Now is a good time to be looking for the seed pods. It is best to pick the lot once about a third of the pods have become brown. The problem comes at this stage because the birds love the seeds. Cockatoos, rosellas and choughs are partial to the seeds. Store the green pods out of reach of the birds for a few days while they ripen.

From the information in the article, it would be worth growing the tree to use the seeds, if you can win the battle with the birds.

The seeds have fine hairs which irritate greatly, so take care. Use a knife to split the pods and use a pair of leather gloves to rub the hairs off the seeds. Blow the hairs from the seeds and dry the seeds for a few days before storing them. (Watch out for the birds.)

Use a frying pan with a lid to roast the seeds on high heat, or if using an ordinary stove top pan stir all the while. This is how coffee is treated. The roasting is done according to the strength of the flavour you prefer. According to the article the flavour of the brewed ‘coffee’ is something like Mocha or long black Espresso coffee. The roasting is carried out until the Kurrajong seeds are the colour that you like in coffee.

Once roasted, the seeds are stored in a glass jar until needed for grinding. The suggested amount to use is a heaped dessertspoon of ground Kurrajong seeds per cup. Put the ‘coffee’ in a saucepan, cover with boiling water and bring back to the boil. Let stand a few minutes before straining and serving.

I don’t like coffee at all. I would rather try different teas. However I would be very interested to find out how this truly tasted.