Kurrajong
Kurrajong (Brachychiton populneus)
Brachychiton populneus is kurrajong — tough drought-hardy shade with a bottle trunk, cream bell flowers, and poplar-like leaves — specified for resilient screen and shade where red or pink flowering cousins are the wrong brief.
Spec
At a glance
- Botanical name
- Brachychiton populneus
- Family
- Malvaceae (Sterculiaceae)
- Common names
- Kurrajong, bottle tree (populneus)
- Origin
- Eastern Australia
- Plant type
- Drought-hardy shade tree
- Mature height
- Often 10–15 m
- Trunk / form
- Bottle-shaped trunk swelling; poplar-like leaves
- Crown spread
- Moderate shade crown; modest cream bell flowers
- Growth rate
- Moderate; drought-wise
- Light
- Full sun
- Water needs
- Low-moderate once established
- India climate suitability
- Dry and warm India; drought-tolerant shade
- Cold/heat & salt/wind tolerance
- Tough; surface roots; seed-pod hairs irritant
- Typical supply size
- Bottle trunk caliper classes [Unverified]
- Lead time (sourcing)
- [Unverified] kurrajong nursery stock
- Install considerations
- Surface root zone planning; bottle trunk clearance
- Maintenance level
- Moderate — seed-pod hair PPE; root zone management
- Cautions
- Surface roots; seed-pod hairs irritant; modest flowers vs flame/discolor
Gallery
Specimen visual guide
Visual context for placement, scale, handling, and landscape integration.
Section
Where it's used in premium projects
Kurrajong is the tough bottle-trunk shade and screen — estate dry gardens, carpark edges, and drought-wise campuses where trunk character and resilience matter more than spectacular bloom.
Section
Climate & site suitability in India
Suits dry warm India with less flowering hype than acerifolius — still plan surface roots near paving. Seed-pod hairs irritate skin — maintenance PPE and guest education near play areas.
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Sourcing & acclimatisation
Specify bottle trunk swell and trunk caliper — distinguish from *B. rupestris* WP11 bottle tree narratives. [Unverified: typical India populneus availability.]
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Installation (pit, soil, drainage, bracing)
Wide root zone pits; do not trap bottle trunk in tight tree grates. Plan irritant seed-pod cleanup season with PPE — not guest-handled litter.
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Establishment & AMC
AMC manages surface roots lifting paving and seed-pod hair exposure. Do not sell populneus as red flame tree substitute — flowering is modest cream bells.
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Cost drivers
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Related links
Services, segments, cost, and proof.
- Softscape & horticulture
- Irrigation & water management
- Landscape maintenance (AMC)
- Hotel & resort landscaping
- Luxury resort & spa landscaping
- Mall & retail landscaping
- Corporate campus landscaping
- Projects
- Commercial landscaping cost guide
- Pricing drivers (imported trees)
- Import compliance workflow
- Request a site assessment
- What is the kurrajong bottle trunk?
- Trunk swells bottle-like with age — drought storage character distinct from flowering Brachychiton cousins.
- Are seed pods hazardous?
- Seed-pod hairs are irritant — maintenance needs PPE; avoid play zones under heavy pod drop years.
- How drought-tough is populneus?
- Among the tougher Brachychitons for dry shade — still needs establishment irrigation, then dry-wise AMC.
- How does kurrajong compare to flame tree?
- Populneus is shade and bottle trunk with modest cream flowers; acerifolius is red bare-branch spectacle — different BOQ intent.
- Do surface roots affect paving?
- Yes — programme root barriers and inspection near hardscape.
- What import paperwork applies to kurrajong?
- Brachychiton populneus needs species labels on phytosanitary docs for Indian inspection — bottle-tree generic labels are insufficient (informational, not legal advice).
- How should populneus quotations be evaluated?
- Bottle trunk photos, caliper, root-zone engineering, and seed-pod maintenance scope — not red-flower benchmarks.