Queensland Bottle Tree

Australian trees · unusual shapes · drought survivor

Swollen trunk storage. The Queensland bottle tree has a super thick, bulging trunk that can grow up to 3.5 meters wide at the base. It stores water inside to survive dry seasons when regular trees would struggle.

Tall but not giant. These trees grow between 10 to 25 meters high, making them a respectable size without being the tallest trees around. That's roughly as tall as a seven or eight story building.

Leaves come and go. The Queensland bottle tree is deciduous, meaning it drops all its leaves between September and December each year. This helps it survive dry times by using less water.

Creamy colored flowers. From September to November, the tree sprouts pale cream-colored flowers that are really pretty. After the flowers fade, they turn into woody, boat-shaped seed pods that take months to ripen.

Only in Queensland. This tree is endemic to Queensland, Australia, which means it grows naturally nowhere else in the world. Scientists first described it way back in 1848.