Bottle tree facts for kids

A Queensland Bottle Tree (Brachychiton)

The bottle tree is a plant that has adapted to hot climates, such as the desert. They are called bottle trees because the shape of their trunk is a bottle shape. There are several different species including:

• Adansonia species, the baobabs;
  • Adansonia gregorii (the boab)
• Pachypodium lealii, (Apocynaceae), the bottle tree of Namibia and Angola;
• The genus Moringa, (Moringaceae), of Madagascar;
• Brachychiton species, (Malvaceae), of Australia;
• Ceiba species, the floss silk tree or palo borracho of South America.

The name bottle tree is also used to describe an artificial tree made of glass bottles, usually of colored glass. Associated with Hoodoo and primarily found in the Southern United States.

Glass bottle tree