Life of an Ivory Curl flower

Published on by bushboy

As I have promised so many people, here is a bit about the Ivory Curl tree, Buckinghamia celsissima, in my garden. This year has been a wonderful flowering and there has been many insects visiting. I haven’t seen any birds though.

The flowers are very like a Grevillea spike flower and attract the bees with their prolific nectar, the flowers are almost 30cm long and cause the branches to drop down giving the tree a weeping habit. The Ivory Curl tree will grow to between 10 to 30 metres in Northern Queensland where they normally grow. The ones in my garden will only grow to around 3 to 5 metres.

When this one was newly planted, the top was broken off when my youngest daughter and a friend were small, running around the garden playing, they decided to used the tiny tree as a hurdle. As you can see it didn’t do any long term damage just set it back a bit.

The flowers go through a “bud” stage

The flowers can grow either in groups or as a single flower

This bee was having a good time exploring the flower

Bees really get inside for the nectar

There is often a variety of insects having a snack. Beetles, wasps and bees.

A Line Blue Butterfly finding a good spot

A Varied Eggfly Butterfly fluttered in for a visit

There is always a spider lurking somewhere

But scurries away when spotted

A Hornet and a couple of Small Green-banded Line Blues share a flower. I have no idea what the insect is on the tip of the flower.

After a while all flowers must have to decline and lose their attraction.

Some flowers just drop down to almost a stick after all the flower parts drop off.

Whereas other flowers form seed pods

But as the Autumn flowers start to fade and disappear, new leaves will start to appear with their wonderful bronze colour

Also for Cee’s FOTD

22 thoughts on “Life of an Ivory Curl flower”

  7. Do those flowers exist in America? Because if so, you’ve solved a mystery for me. They don’t grow here. I suspect it is too cold, but in the South, it’s much warmer and I saw what looks remarkably like those flowers in several places. Fascinating photography!

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