17 Jun 2025 FILM DIARY

What is remarkable about the photos I took this morning is that the flowers on the ivory curl or buckinghamia tree in front of the letterboxes of my unit block, were out in Winter, in June 2025, whereas flowering normally takes place in Summer and Autumn. The tree was planted more than thirty years ago and has been at its present size for a long time. It is endemic to the tropical rainforest of north-eastern Queensland, at altitudes from 200 to 1,000 m, where It can grow to thirty metres tall, although the tree outside my front door is about fifteen metres high. Part of the tree was broken off by cyclonic weather in 2023 and earlier this year. It flowers abundantly in due season, exuding a sweet, heady aroma. The ivory curl tree has become a popular planting in parks, streets and private gardens in regions far beyond its natural range. It grows well even as far south as Sydney and Melbourne, but only reaches some seven to eight metres tall.

As remarkable as the Winter flowering is the fact that I have not videoed or photographed the tree until now, so that the only image in my Rainforest Flora album is of today’s single flower. I will amplify the content by photographing the tree in full bloom.