Bottle trees

These trees are synonymous with the area of south west Queensland where I live. Bottle trees are native to this area. They are not Boab trees (which are found in Western Australia) which are entirely different and not related to the bottle trees at all. I do not know the Botanical name for these trees and there are many different varieties. This particular one is a deciduous variety and it has almost lost all its leaves - yes some trees in Australia do lose their leaves in spring unlike those native to the northern hemisphere which are currently losing their leaves in the northern autumn.

There are many better specimens of these trees that I could have drawn but his one is available to me in the grounds at work so is relatively easy to access in the limited time I have available at the moment. It is an unfinished drawing and will likely remain so but it will give you an idea of the very interesting shape of our native trees.

These trees are also culturally important in our town. Following World War 1 a tree was planted for each of the 100 soldiers of the surrounding area who did not return from the war and this is know as Heroes' Avenue. Each Anzac Day returned soldiers and other groups march along the avenue to the town's memorial where the Anzac Day services are held. As the parade passes each tree a wreath is laid in memory of the soldier the tree honours.

A few years ago some of the trees began to die and tree surgeons were called in to give them some special care. Some trees survived and others were replaced and we still have a tree representing each of the soldiers.