Flindersia australis
Family: RUTACEAE
Further to the articles, below, on Deep Yellowwoods and Ribbonwoods, here is another of our large and beautiful local native trees which could be used to give our city the look and feel that we love - of stately parks and shady, tree-lined streets - in the way that camphor laurels do now. As you can see from the photo above, of a new house built among established crows ashes (in Hi-winds Road, Blue Mountain Heights), this tree is one which would add a great deal of distinction to any style of architecture. I believe these trees to be over 100 years old - perhaps a similar age to Toowoomba’s largest camphor laurels, which were donated to the city by the Queensland Naturalisation society in 1880.
Given just a bit of attention when very young, crows ashes can be fast-growing. They appreciate a little watering in their first few months, and protection from frost in their first one or two winters. They grow to become very resistant both the frost and drought.
The specimen at right is about 20 years old.
They can be partially deciduous for a brief period in spring, losing the leaves on just one or two branches. Leaf loss is followed by little white flowers, which in turn are followed by those magnificent woody starfish-like seedpods which are used to such effect in dried flower arrangements.
1 comment:
I seem to have lost a comment sent by Julie-Ann, asking how long it takes a crows ash tree to flower. She has a tree that is thirty years old, and it has never flowered.
I thought I was publishing it, but it got lost somewhere in the works. I'm sorry, Julie-Ann.
The answer is that flowering is unpredictable. I don't know how long it takes a young tree to reach flowering age, though obviously it would vary according to the growing conditions.
And even then, crows ashes don't flower every year. Sometimes, as last year, they flower very well all over the district. Other times just a few of them do, or perhaps none.
Remember that many trees take a lot of time to reach maturity. That's why we grow fruit as grafted trees. Otherwise we would have to wait for that kind of time-span for the fruit.
Maybe next year.....
Trish
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