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Brachychiton populneus
Malvaceae FAMILY

Brachychiton populneus

Brachychiton populneus

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

The seed capsule contains irritant, glochid-like, hairs and should only be handled when wearing gloves[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—

Brachychiton populneus is a plant of the arid to moist tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones, where it is found at elevations up to 1,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 25 - 32°c, but can tolerate 13 - 38°c[2]. Mature plants can be killed by temperatures of -5°c or lower, but young plants will be severely damaged at -1°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 450 - 750mm, but tolerates 250 - 1,000mm[2]. Prefers a well-drained moderately fertile, slightly acidic soil in a sunny position[3, 1]. Succeeds in most soils, tolerating dry soils in Australian gardens[4, 5]. Plants dislike wet soils, especially in the winter[PFAF]. Prefers a pH in the range 7 - 8, tolerating 6.5 - 8.5[2]. Established plants are drought tolerant[2]. Trees can be cut back into old wood and usually resprout well[6].Requires a minimum temperature of 7 - 10°c[7, 3]. Plants are hardy to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[4], though this cannot be translated directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and longer, colder and wetter winters. This plant is very doubtfully hardy outdoors in Britain, though plants in an unheated greenhouse survived a prolonged cold period in 1996 - 97 when temperatures sometimes went down to -8°c[PFAF]. Prefers a well-drained moderately fertile soil in a sunny position[3]. Succeeds in most soils, tolerating dry soils in Australian gardens[4, 5]. Plants dislike wet soils, especially in the winter[PFAF].

Propagation

Seed - we have no details for this species but suggest sowing the seed in spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Brachychiton+populneus>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Desert Tropicals — http://www.desert-tropicals.com/ ↩︎The main focus of the site is succulent plants, but it also contains information on a wide range of other species. Usually at least one good photograph, plus basic information about the plant and its cultivation.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Australian Native Plants. — Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. · Collins. (Australia) · 1988 · ISBN 0-7322-0021-0 ↩︎A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.
  5. [5]A Field Guide to Australian Trees. — Holliday. I. and Hill. R. · Frederick Muller Ltd. · 1974 · ISBN 0-85179-627-3 ↩︎A well illustrated and very readable book, but it does not contain much information for the plant project.
  6. [6]Useful Wild Plants in Australia. — Cribb. A. B. and J. W. · William Collins Pty Ltd. Sidney · 1981 · ISBN 0-00-216441-8 ↩︎A very readable book.
  7. [7]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  8. [8]Wild Food in Australia. — Cribb. A. B. and J. W. · Fontana · 1976 · ISBN 0-00-634436-4 ↩︎A very good pocket guide.
  9. [9]Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. — Barwick. M. · Thames & Hudson, London · 2004 · ISBN 0-500-51181-0 ↩︎A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
  10. [10]Flora of Victoria. — Ewart. A. J. · University Press; Melbourne · 1930 ↩︎A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.
  11. [11]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  12. [12]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  13. [13]Wild Food Plants of Australia. — Low. T. · Angus and Robertson. · 1989 · ISBN 0-207-14383-8 ↩︎Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast
  14. [14]The Useful Native Plants of Australia. — Maiden J.H. · Turner & Co.; London. · 1889 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Terse details of the uses of many Australian plants and other species naturalised, or at least growing, in Australia. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  15. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎