What is Brachychiton acerifolious with bright red bell shaped flowers?

Answer 1

Brachychiton acerifolius (note spelling) is one of the worlds most spectacular flowering trees. It is commonly called the Illawarra Flame Tree.

It is briefly semi-deciduous, mostly in spring, but also anytime from late winter into early summer. It is never deciduous from autumn or early winter. Sometimes it looses all its leaves in spring, before a spectacular show of red bell shaped flowers on red stems. The same tree can be semi-deciduous in one year and deciduous in another, without any apparent change in climatic conditions controlling this.

Flowering is usually in late spring under warm temperate conditions, while in subtropical conditions flowering is more variable from mid spring to early summer; again varying from year to year on the same tree without any apparent reason. Flowering often occurs while the tree has lost only part of its leaves.

Natural distribution is the Illawarra Region of coastal southern New South Wales, under a warm temperate climate. It has been widely planted in subtropical and cool temperate coastal climates, as well as temperate and mediterranean inland-continental areas.