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The Flower of the Fish Poison Tree on the Strand Townsville

Fish Poison Tree on the Strand Townsville

March 25, 2014 By Jan Robinson 7 Comments

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The Strand Townsville.

 

The Strand Townsville is a 2.2km parkland that stretches along the foreshore in Townsville. From the Strand you can see Magnetic Island across the Coral Sea.

Crossing over the little creek that enters the ocean near Strand Waterpark my heart skipped a beat.  Recently the profusion of lily plants beneath the trees had been culled and the gardens redressed. From a distance I could see the flowers sprinkled against the dark red of fresh bark chips.

Expectantly I hurried toward the Fish Poison Tree.

Fish Poison Treet The Strand Townsville

At night the sweet pungent perfume of the flowers attract nectar feeding bats and moths, which explains why the flowers that I find are usually damaged in some way, but when it rains overnight the gardens and paths are littered with perfect specimens.

Not just a pretty flower…

Flower of the Fish Poison Tree
Flower of the Fish Poison Tree – it has caught a fly!

Don’t let the powder puff perfection of the pretty white pink and gold tipped creations fool you – every part of this tree is poisonous – but in a good way.

 

A Fish Stunner.

 

Fish Poison Tree Fruit/Seed at the Strand Townsville
The Fruit has layers like a coconut and air bubbles inside that protect the seeds.

Indigenous peoples across Asia and the Pacific grate the seeds and use the mixture to stun fish in freshwater streams.  This tree which you may well have sheltered beneath in India or on the streets of Singapore has 11cm wide box like fruit/seed pods that float on ocean currents like a coconut remaining viable for anywhere from 2 to 15 years.

 

A Colonizer.

It was the first seed to wash up and germinate on Anak Krakatau the island that appeared in 1927 following the Krakatau eruption.

Fish Poison Tree Flower
The Flowers are large – about the size of my hand.

 

Doctoring.

Traditionally the leaves are heated and used to treat stomach ache and rheumatism in the Phillipines while it’s seeds are used to combat intestinal worms.

Barringtonia Asiatica
Barringtonia Asiatica or Fish Poison Tree

 

Fighting rising sea levels.

Known botanically as Barringtonia Asiatica the Fish Poison Tree is currently being planted on the shores of Vanuatu in an attempt to protect them from beach erosion due to rising sea levels.

 

To my eye a lot of the trees along the Strand look the same as the Fish Poison Tree but they are not.  It is only this one group of trees that produce the flowers.

The tree itself is reminiscent of a mangrove tree, sturdy and not particularly attractive.

The flowers that bloom only at night are on the other hand, a profusion of delicate fairy like stamens supported by four pretty petals, and there is only one word to describe them.

Magical.

 

Walking the Strand is our listed in our Fun Things to Do in Townsville and Magnetic Island post. 

 

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Filed Under: Townsville, tropical lifestyle

About Jan Robinson

Jan Robinson writes about travel on her Budget Travel Talk blog. A solo traveller in her teens, for the last 40 years Jan has travelled through Australia, Asia, Europe, Turkey and New Zealand with her husband. They specialise in road trips, caravanning and Independent travel without spending a fortune. Her favourite destination is Turkey and she is currently dreaming of Myanmar and Mexico.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Johanna

    March 25, 2014 at 6:10 pm

    What an absolutely gorgeous flower. It’s hard to believe that it’s poisonous -how can anything so pretty be nasty! That’s a beautiful photo you”ve taken and the colours in the park remind me that the rain we’re having here today at last, will in no way bring out those gorgeous, voluptuous tropical colours in WA!

    Reply
    • Jan

      March 25, 2014 at 7:19 pm

      W.A. is beautiful in a different way. Both great. Can’t wait to get back to W.A.

      Reply
  2. jenny@atasteoftravel

    March 26, 2014 at 2:02 am

    Such a beautiful flower…shame it’s so poisonous! It reminds me of a caper flower which also pink tipped feathery stamens.

    Reply
    • Jan

      March 26, 2014 at 8:19 am

      I guess the caper flower would be a lot smaller? I have never seen a caper bush but I am thinking they are a small to medium sized bush.

      Reply
  3. Mike

    March 26, 2014 at 5:21 pm

    Hi Jan, wow, who would know looking at the tree and flower, huh? That’s ingenious that the fishermen learned to use it to their advantage. It reminds me of that fish…argh, what is it’s name…oh, the Lionfish! Good post 🙂

    Reply
    • Jan

      March 26, 2014 at 8:18 pm

      I have wondered for a long time about this beautiful flower. Then I had a light bulb moment and went to our local Parks and Gardens Department and they told me straight away!

      Reply
  4. Sarah

    December 1, 2022 at 10:41 am

    Thank you for this article. I loved the flowers and collected a few to press. So beautiful, we need to have more of them.

    Reply

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