Kurrajong Tree - good Cattle Fodder

The Kurrajong Tree ( Brachychiton ) is an Australian Native Tree and is found growing in many locations in Australia. There are quite a few species , 31 to be exact.

Actually, 1 species is endemic to New Guinea. The pictured trees are on my Property outside Coonabarabran in NSW. One of the great things about th Kurrajong is that it's a great fodder plant. Cattle love to eat the leaves. If managed correctly, the tree can be cut back quite hard and not suffer at all, in fact it grows back better than ever. In the recent droughts, which are still going on , many farmers utilise this tree to feed their cattle. In parts of my property, very old Kurrajongs have steps carved into their trunks so its easier to access the crown of the tree to cut the branches. It's great to see they are still going strong. Of course, it was previous owners of the Property who carved the steps, not me !!

Here's a Kurrajong thats been trimmed up. See how its bushed up nicely. In 5 or 6 years, she'll be back to a nice full crown again. As well as being long-lived, these trees are very drought tolerant, with deep tap roots that go way down to find the water table. Farmers love the Kurrajong tree, sometimes you can drive past a whole paddock thats been cleared, with a few lonely Kurrajong trees in the centre. The cattle and sheep love them too, they provide good shade in the hot summer.