Brachychiton acerifolius

habitNotes

‘A red flowering Kurrajong. Sergeant Clark writes:
- seeds from this tree have been sown on many occasions but
…there from invariably produces a white flower.’

recordedBy

Bloodstained pages frame
rules of
an imperial game
embroidered
emboldened
embellished
executioners, knighted by
‘ologists
precious appellatives

family

Each stroke
of ink
on paper
equals
imperial
salutation
deepening
scars
on sacred land and paperbarks.

habitat

Though true
depth is absent
from inkpot.
Buoying
a royal
crown
above the deepest
ocean
of stories.

genus

Deified
authorities
waltzing matilda
through their
curated gardens
of stolen knowledge
falsehoods
dancing above
a terra nullius.

scientificName

Botany has
both raped and erased
your flame
stifled
your
beauty
POISON
marks
your name now.

specificEpithet

Under the guise
of a blind Latin
tongue
seeds and leaves
crushed between leather
of boot and journal
now mere shadows
pressed
across spreadsheet.

notes

songlines are no less dismembered beyond these cells
roots thread deeper than introduced infrastructure
when belly holds water and hands bleed rivers
holding memory and babies. women’s business tree.