LOCAL councillor and head of council’s Environment and Sustainability Committee is backing a move to ensure the continued longevity of a century old bottle tree in Marburg.

Ipswich City Council want to safeguard the future of the Lawrence Street bottle tree that grows on private land.

“This is a beautiful and healthy tree, and it’s a standout in the Marburg landscape,” Cr Madden said.

“It’s not just about looks—this bottle tree also helps with biodiversity and adds character to the street.”

The council has issued an interim Vegetation Protection Order under Local Law No. 49, which helps shield significant trees and vegetation from harm.

Now, the community has a chance to have their say before the protection is locked in for good.

Public submissions are open until July 1.

BOTTLE trees – Brachychiton rupestris – hold cultural significance for First Nations peoples who have used parts of the tree for food and tools.

They were once stand-out features of the dense scrubs which grew across an area represented by today’s Rosewood to Lowood and from Haigslea to Hatton Vale.

Much of the softwood scrubs were felled to give way to farmland to sustain the settlers’ families.

More were felled during the early droughts as the moist inner timbers could sustain starving cattle.

In advice published by the Department of Agriculture and Stock in the 1918 drought, it was noted that “some people have evidently not tried the bottle tree before and were under the impression that anything of this nature would not satisfactorily support stock.

“In answer to this question, the Director of Agriculture states that the pulp-like pith is very useful and valuable food for cattle and many stockowners have had very little else to depend on lately … cattle thrive on bottle trees due to the richness of the leaves in protein and carbohydrates … and the pulp’s food value resembles that of the mangel wurzel, a root crop used largely in the British Isles as stock food.”