Fire Tree – Brachychiton Acerifolius
Origin: Australia
Trunk measurements: 10/20 20/25 14/16 12/14 16/18 18/20
Description: It is a semi-evergreen tree, which briefly loses its leaf just before flowering, with a semi-ovoid crown, with a height of between 10 and 35 m and a crown width of between 4 and 10 m. Its thickened trunk serves to store water, which gives it resistance to drought. Its bark is smooth and grayish-green in color, turning light gray with age. The leaves are simple, palmate, 20 to 30 cm long, and are medium bright green on the front and back. It flowers between July and August. The flowers are bell-shaped, 1 to 2 cm in diameter, bright red, and are grouped in panicles of up to 40 cm. Its fruits are black follicles, 8 to 12 cm long, with yellow seeds covered with irritating hairs, and appear in early autumn. A curiosity of this tree is that it only loses its leaves in the years when it flowers, in whole or in part, so that sometimes you can see a tree half red (in flower) and half green (with leaves).