A plant that has been a mystery to us at Booyong until now is the RHODOSPHAERA rhodanthema, commonly known as Deep Yellow wood tree. It is a medium sized tree (to 20m) located in the circle by the cabin and we need to thank Hugh at the NSW Native plant identification Facebook page for this one.

This picture was taken in October last year and the tree flowers mainly from September to October. As you can see the flowers are beautiful, the foliage soft and colours stunning. The bees both native and introduced loved this tree last spring.

Its fruit forms in large clusters of green before turning a shiny chestnut brown and stays on the tree for many months. This casing makes the tree difficult to propagate.

The timber of the tree is a yellowish bronze and is streaky in colouring. It is a moderate to hard wood valued for cabinet work; in addition Hugh mentioned that the timber is excellent for making musical instruments.