Our Christmas tree, the brown kurrajong.

Ever since we first started coming North for Christmas I have been struck by these trees with their masses of white flowers. They are common along roadways in the Northern Rivers. They are the local Christmas tree, and almost look like they have taken a heavy fall of snow.

Eventually I found out that the tree has the unpromising name of brown kurrajong. The botanical name is Brachychiton populneus. We are more familiar with Brachychitons here as the very showy flame trees, which lose all their leaves and are covered in red flowers, a few weeks earlier than the brown kurrajongs.

The brown kurrajong is our local Christmas tree.
The brown kurrajong is our local Christmas tree.

It turned out we have a pair of them on our driveway, and fine driveway trees they are, arching over at a good height. They have the added advantage of being perfect for bearing orchids, as they have rough and persistent bark. The larger one on the right has not only a large stag horn fern, but also a collection of dendrobium orchids, which are all doing well in the dappled shade of the crown. At ground level we have a planting of bromeliads and clivias, which are also liking the conditions.

The right hand tree will flower later this year, for whatever reason, so we will get an extended display between the two.