The Flame Tree 



1 N some lands it would be worshipped as the living in- 

 ^ carnation of the great fire god, for all the warmth of the 

 ages seems concentrated in its glowing mass of blossom. Set 

 round by the glossy green of palms and tree-ferns, cedars and 

 blackwoods, it stands out, a blaze of vivid scarlet that almost 

 bewilders by its startling beauty. The holiday-makers that 

 pass up and down the road above it, stop and gaze in open- 

 mouthed amazement at its gorgeousness. 



" What is it?" is the question on their lips; and many and 

 varied are the answers given. Some, with an air of learning, 

 say it is a flowering palm, others declare it is a coral tree ; but 

 one and all wonder how it comes to be there, " away out in the 

 bush." 



And yet it is not at all an uncommon tree in the South 

 Coast brush, where it chiefly flourishes. It is known to 

 botanists as Sterculia acerifolia. and is sister to the familiar 

 "currajong" (Sterculia diversifolia) of the inlands. Some 

 fine specimens of it are to be seen in the Botanic Gardens, 

 and in several gardens round Sydney it grows splendidly. It 

 is always a handsome tree, with glossy, palm-shaped leaves; 

 but when it is covered with its scarlet bell-flowers, it stands 

 as a burning protest against the accusation that there is no 

 colour in the Australian bush. Before its vivid scarlet the 



