bush

Bottle Trees can grow in a wide variety of soils and aspects and can sustain temperatures from -5 to +45 degrees. They can be used to provide shade from the sun and shelter from the wind. The Bottle Tree is very versatile and easy to grow and will make a fantastic addition to just about any location or environment. The Queensland Bottle Tree used to be primarily used as a feature tree in larger landscapes – when given the space to thrive, its bottle-shaped trunk really stands out, making it a fantastic focal point. The Queensland Bottle Tree is now a protected species, meaning that it can no longer be harvested from the wild. It plays an important role in what has now become an endangered ecosystem; the way in which it emerges from above other trees and plants enables it to provide a safe habitat for several native species, many of which are now endangered. Source: www.designertrees.com.au/trees/bottle-trees/

Brachychiton rupestris, commonly known as the narrow-leaved bottle tree or Queensland bottle tree, is a tree in the family Malvaceae[a] native to Queensland, Australia. Described by Sir Thomas Mitchell and John Lindley in 1848, it gained its name from its bulbous trunk, which can be up to 3.5 metres (11 ft) in diameter at breast height (DBH). Reaching 10–25 metres (33–82 ft) high, the Queensland bottle tree is deciduous, losing its leaves between September and December. The leaves are simple or divided, with one or more narrow leaf blades up to 11 centimetres (4 in) long and 2 centimetres (0.8 in) wide. Cream-coloured flowers appear from September to November and are followed by woody boat-shaped follicles that ripen from November to May. No subspecies are recognised. As a drought-deciduous succulent tree, B. rupestris adapts readily to cultivation and is tolerant of a range of soils and temperatures. It is a key component and emergent tree in the endangered central semi-evergreen vine thickets—also known as bottletree scrub—of the Queensland Brigalow Belt. Remnant trees are often left by farmers on cleared land for their value as shade and fodder trees. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachychiton_rupestris

o A bush-house is an Australian term for shade-house, created to grow plants that prefer shady conditions and thrive in warm climates. This shady environment simulates the rainforest understorey. Sometimes called a Fernery or Fern House. o IT IS NOT A GLASSHOUSE or true conservatory. o BHs linked to 19th century interior decoration and the use of potted palms, ferns etc. in "hall and table", and for decorating verandahs o In design terms, this is where garden architecture and horticulture combine! Bush houses were extremely popular in Queensland from the 1880s to 1940s, ranging from Government House (OBG and Fernberg) to suburban cottages and villas, to outback homesteads, in private & public gardens. Source: brisbanebotanictreasures.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/...

What looks like a bottle, stores up liquid and has an edible inner bark? The Queensland bottle tree. Shaped like a sturdy wine bottle, these trees are often left standing when undergrowth is cleared away for farming. While not a perfect source, Bottle trees have long been considered an emergency source of sustenance. Bottle trees are often left in fields where cattle are being grown. The leaves can serve as an emergency fodder. In times of extreme drought, farmers have even felled whole trees for cattle. When the outer bark is peeled back, it exposes a soft, edible inner bark. Unfortunately, the pulp is a good source of energy but doesn’t provide much in the way of protein. Some cattle fed on it have developed Nitrate poisoning. The native people who lived in Australia before the Europeans sometimes ate the roots of the young plants or scored the sides of the trees and ate the secretions from them. They used the fiber to make nets. Source: www.designertrees.com.au/queensland-bottle-tree-drink-foo...