Species profile—Brachychiton compactus
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Sterculiaceae → Brachychiton compactus
Sighting data
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Sterculiaceae
- Scientific name
- Brachychiton compactus Guymer
- WildNet taxon ID
- 12648
- Alternate name(s)
- Whitsunday bottle tree
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Near threatened
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- No
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Short Notes
- BRI 232988
- Description
- Brachychiton compactus is a semi-deciduous tree 8 to 15 m tall. The trunk has a dbh of 80 to140 cm and a height of 4 to 10 m. The crown is compact and spherical; the bark is dark grey, fissured and tessellated on the trunk, grey and slightly fissured on the branches. The leaf blades are shiny above, paler below, ovate to ovate lanceolate, 6 to 12 cm long and 2.5 to 5.5 cm wide; the tips are acuminate, acute or rarely obtuse; the base is truncate, slightly cordate or rounded; the margins are slightly crenulate; the venation is pinnate and is quite distinct with the midrib slightly raised above and below. The stipules are caducous, oblong-lanceolate, acute, and stellate-puberulent, they are 5 to 6 mm long by 1.2 to 1.5 mm wide. The juvenile leaf blades are digitately compound or deeply lobed; there are 3 to 9 linear to lanceolate leaflets or lobes which are occasionally ovate-lanceolate; they are 6 to13cm long by 1 to 3.2cm wide with a petiole that is 4.5 to 13 cm long, by 0.7 to 1.5 mm diam. The inflorescences are axillary, compact, compound-paniculate and are 30 to 80 flowered, the ultimate branches are usually triads, and are 1 to 2 (-2.5) cm long; The bracts are caducous, ovate or obovate, cymbiform, stellate-puberulent, and are 2 to 3 mm long, by 1.3 to 1.9 mm wide. The flowers are 5 to 8 mm long, by 14 to 17 mm diam. The perianth is pale inside above the middle, and glandular puberulent below; the lobes are oblong-ovate or ovate, white and stellate tomentose inside, and are 5 to 8 mm long by 2 to 4 mm wide. The carpelodes are stellate-pubescent around the top of the ovaries, occasionally sparsely pubescent, 0.4 to 0.6 mm long, by 0.15 to 0.2 mm wide. The follicles are glabrous outside, ellipsoid, stipitate, rostrate, 3 to 4 cm long, by 1.6 to 2.2 cm wide; the pericarp is 0.9 to 1.2 mm thick; the stipes are twisted, 30 to 35 mm long, by 1.4 to 2 mm diam.; the apices are deltoid to narrowly-triangular, erect or slightly incurved, 5 to 10 mm long; the pericap is stellate-hirsute inside (hairs occasionally 2-branched or stellate), and glabrous above. There are 4 to 12 seeds per follicle, which are smooth, ovoid, 7 to 8 mm long, by 3.5 to 4 mm diam. (Guymer 1989).
Brachychiton compactus is closely related to B. rupestris. It is distinguished from B. rupestris by its ovate-lanceolate leaves, shorter, compact, 30 to 80 flowered inflorescences, and longer-ellipsoid follicles (3 to 4cm long) with erect or slightly incurved apices. (Guymer, 1989). - Distribution
- The species has a very restricted distribution on the central coast of Queensland and also occurs in a fragmented araucarian vine thicket on Hayman Island. (Guymer 1989) It has been found within Conway NP. (Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Distributional limits
- -20.0572222, 148.5260818
-20.2834397, 148.9342444 - Range derivation
- Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records
- Habitat
- Brachychiton compactus is commonly found on steep lower slopes or rarely on rocky headlands, from near sea-level to 100 m. Soils are usually shallow, gravelly or stony, with frequent rock outcrops or screes; they are derived mainly from granite.
The species is a component of semi-evergreen notophyll-microphyll vine thickets or low vine forests (occasionally with Araucaria cunninghamii). (Guymer, 1989) - Behaviour
- Brachychiton compactus flowers between October and November and fruits between December and March. (Guymer, 1989).
- Status notes
- Brachychiton compactus is listed as Near Threatened under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.
- Notes
- Occurs in the following Queensland pastoral district: North Kennedy.
- References
- Guymer, G.P. (1989). A Taxonomic Revision of Brachychiton (Sterculiaceae). Australian Systematic Botany 1 (3): 240-243.
Queensland Herbarium (2012). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 19/01/2012. - Profile author
- Ronald Booth (05/03/2012)
Other resources
Data source
This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=12648.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
