Brachychiton Rupestris
In his landmark Flora Australiensis, English botanist George Bentham published the first key for the nine described species of Brachychiton, and relegated them to a section of Sterculia.[3] Hence the Queensland bottle tree became Sterculia rupestris.[13] Von Mueller maintained his recognition of Brachychiton as a separate genus.[3] German botanist Otto Kuntze challenged the generic name Sterculia in 1891, on the grounds that the name Clompanus took precedence. He republished the Queensland bottle tree as Clompanus rupestris.[14] German botanist Karl Moritz Schumann gave it its current binomial name in 1893,[15] which was accepted by Achille Terraciano of the Orto botanico di Palermo[16] and subsequent authorities, and remains current.[1]
brachychiton rupestris
In 1988, Gordon Guymer of the Queensland Herbarium published a taxonomic revision of Brachychiton; he classified B. rupestris in the section Delabechea along with the related and newly described Proserpine bottle tree.[3] A third species, from southeast Queensland, has been recognised but not yet described.[8] Unique to the section, all three species have bulbous trunks and can have large cavities in the vertical wood parenchyma.[7] The genus Brachychiton lies within an Australasian clade within the subfamily Sterculioideae (previously family Sterculiaceae) in a large broadly defined Malvaceae. It is only distantly related to Sterculia, belonging to a different clade within the Sterculioideae.[17]
Brachychiton turgidulus is a naturally occurring hybrid cross of B. rupestris with the kurrajong B. populneus subsp. populneus.[3] It is particularly prevalent east of Boonah.[3]
Brachychiton rupestris has been recorded as a host plant for the mistletoe species Dendrophthoe glabrescens.[30] Insects hosted by the species include the pale cotton stainer bug, a pest of cotton crops, and the kurrajong leaf roller caterpillar that chews on the foliage and rolls individual leaves, within which it then pupates.[31][32][33][34] Bottle tree scrub is a key habitat of the near threatened black-breasted buttonquail.[35] Brachychiton rupestris can withstand bushfires and responds by flowering and putting forth new foliage afterwards.[5]
Brachychiton rupestris is more popularly known as the Queensland bottle tree or the Australian bottle tree. The plant belongs to the Malvaceae family and is characterized by a large bottle-shaped trunk but it takes about 5 to 10 years to get that shape. This plant has succulent habits but is a tree reaching a height of about 10 to 20 meters in its natural habitat, which is Queensland in Australia. The Queensland bottle tree in the pot grows even smaller. This tree is frost-hardy but needs full sun for happy growth. The Brachychiton rupestris leaves grow as a canopy dropping its leaves before spring. It blooms into creamy-yellow flowers with red markings between Spring to Summer. The Brachychiton rupestris or Queensland bottle tree has a moderate growth rate throughout the year without any distinct dormant season.
Brachychiton rupestris grows well in sandy or loamy soil. Even when the soil conditions are poor, the tree will not stop growing. When growing a Queensland bottle tree in a pot, ensure that the pot has drainage holes.
Background: Brachychiton rupestris and Brachychiton discolor (Malvaceae) are ornamental trees native to Australia. Some members of Brachychiton and its highly related genus, Sterculia, are employed in traditional medicine for itching, dermatitis and other skin diseases. However, scientific studies on these two genera are scarce. Aiming to reveal the scientific basis of the folk medicinal use of these plants, the cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic activities of Brachychiton rupestris and Brachychiton discolor leaves extracts and fractions were evaluated. Also, phytochemical investigation of B. rupestris was performed to identify the compounds exerting the biological effect.
Methods: Extracts as well as fractions of Brachychiton rupestris and Brachychiton discolor were tested for their cytotoxicity versus hepatoma HepG2, lung A549, and breast MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines. Assessment of the anti-allergic activity was done using degranulation assay in RBL-2H3 mast cells. Anti-inflammatory effect was tested by measuring the suppression of superoxide anion production as well as elastase release in fMLF/CB-induced human neutrophils. Phytochemical investigation of the n-hexane, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate fractions of B. rupestris was done using different chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques.
Results: The tested samples showed no cytotoxicity towards the tested cell lines. The nonpolar fractions of both B. rupestris and B. discolor showed potent anti-allergic potency by inhibiting the release of β-hexosaminidase. The dichloromethane fraction of both species exhibited the highest anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing superoxide anion generation and elastase release with IC50 values of 2.99 and 1.98 μg/mL, respectively for B. rupestris, and 0.78 and 1.57 μg/mL, respectively for B. discolor. Phytochemical investigation of various fractions of B. rupestris resulted in the isolation of β-amyrin acetate (1), β-sitosterol (2) and stigmasterol (3) from the n-hexane fraction. Scopoletin (4) and β-sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucoside (5) were obtained from the dichloromethane fraction. Dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol 4-O-β-D-glucoside (6) and dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol 9-O-β-D-glucoside (7) were separated from the ethyl acetate fraction. Scopoletin (4) showed anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory activity.
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The shape of a Queensland Bottle Tree or Brachychiton rupestris can vary from shot-squat, thick or thin, bent or straight and even twin trunks. The Queensland Bottle Tree or Brachychiton rupestris has its own character and is suited for any landscape design. Grows to 4-7m in height. It is a faster growing tree when planted in a full sun and can handle most soils but prefers well drained. The Queensland Bottle Tree or Brachychiton rupestris is also frost tolerant handling -8ºC once established.
Brachychiton rupestris and Brachychiton discolor (Malvaceae) are ornamental trees native to Australia. Some members of Brachychiton and its highly related genus, Sterculia, are employed in traditional medicine for itching, dermatitis and other skin diseases. However, scientific studies on these two genera are scarce. Aiming to reveal the scientific basis of the folk medicinal use of these plants, the cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic activities of Brachychiton rupestris and Brachychiton discolor leaves extracts and fractions were evaluated. Also, phytochemical investigation of B. rupestris was performed to identify the compounds exerting the biological effect.
Extracts as well as fractions of Brachychiton rupestris and Brachychiton discolor were tested for their cytotoxicity versus hepatoma HepG2, lung A549, and breast MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines. Assessment of the anti-allergic activity was done using degranulation assay in RBL-2H3 mast cells. Anti-inflammatory effect was tested by measuring the suppression of superoxide anion production as well as elastase release in fMLF/CB-induced human neutrophils. Phytochemical investigation of the n-hexane, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate fractions of B. rupestris was done using different chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques.
The tested samples showed no cytotoxicity towards the tested cell lines. The nonpolar fractions of both B. rupestris and B. discolor showed potent anti-allergic potency by inhibiting the release of β-hexosaminidase. The dichloromethane fraction of both species exhibited the highest anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing superoxide anion generation and elastase release with IC50 values of 2.99 and 1.98 μg/mL, respectively for B. rupestris, and 0.78 and 1.57 μg/mL, respectively for B. discolor. Phytochemical investigation of various fractions of B. rupestris resulted in the isolation of β-amyrin acetate (1), β-sitosterol (2) and stigmasterol (3) from the n-hexane fraction. Scopoletin (4) and β-sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucoside (5) were obtained from the dichloromethane fraction. Dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol 4-O-β-D-glucoside (6) and dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol 9-O-β-D-glucoside (7) were separated from the ethyl acetate fraction. Scopoletin (4) showed anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory activity. 041b061a72