Ormeau bottle tree

What does it look like?

The Ormeau bottle tree is large tree with a distinctive, swollen and bottle-like trunk. It grows up to 25 metres and has large glossy leaves. Juvenile trees lack a swollen trunk and have narrow leaves with 5 to 9 deeply pointed lobes like an outstretched hand. Bell shaped cream flowers can be seen in spring.

Where does it live?

The Ormeau bottle tree has a small, restricted range limited to the Kingsholme, Upper Ormeau and Pimpama River valley areas of the Gold Coast. The species occupies a total area of less than 1 square kilometre.

Ecology & habitat

The Ormeau bottle tree is canopy tree that only occurs near small streams in rocky gorges among small leaf (microphyll) vine forest and near larger streams in large leaf (notophyll) vine forest communities. It favours undisturbed habitats.

The tree is a long-lived (greater than 100 years) species. It only reaches sexual maturity at approximately 20 years of age when the trunk is approximately 20 to 30 centimetres in diameter at breast height (DBH).

How is its survival threatened?

• Small area of distribution
• Low genetic diversity
• Slow reproductive rates, particularly for disturbed, recovering or recently established populations
• Past clearing of dry rainforest for agriculture caused fragmented and isolated populations
• Weed invasion has degraded remaining suitable habitat
• Livestock grazing and trampling reducing seed viability

Impacts of bushfires for the species are unknown.

How can we help?

• Improve knowledge of the species' distribution
• Protect all remaining populations located on both private and public land
• Increase the size of existing populations and habitat areas
• Restore previously cleared and/or degraded habitat areas
• Establish new populations in Council conservation areas

Image credit: Glenn Leiper