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Brachychiton rupestris in the family Malvaceae, commonly known as the Queensland bottle tree, is native to Queensland, Australia. Discovered and described by Sir Thomas Mitchell and John Lindley in 1848, it gained its name from its bulbous trunk, which can be up to 3.5 metres (11 ft) diameter at breast height. Reaching 10–25 metres (33–82 ft) high, the tree is deciduous, losing its leaves between September and December. Cream flowers appear from September to November, followed by woody boat-shaped follicles that ripen from November to May. It is an emergent tree in the endangered central semi-evergreen vine thickets of the Brigalow Belt. Remnant trees are often left by farmers on cleared land to provide shade and fodder. As a drought-deciduous succulent tree, the bottle tree adapts readily to cultivation and is tolerant of a range of soils and temperatures. It is found planted in streets, parks, and gardens and on farms. An avenue in Roma, Queensland, was planted between 1918 and 1920, each tree representing one of 93 local men killed in World War I. The species is also cultivated as an indoor plant and a bonsai subject. (Full article...)

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January 14: New Year (Julian calendar); National Forest Conservation Day in Thailand; Ratification Day in the United States (1784)

• 1724 – Philip V, the first Bourbon ruler of Spain, abdicated in favor of his eldest son Louis.
• 1814 – Sweden and Denmark–Norway signed the Treaty of Kiel, whereby Frederick VI of Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden in return for the Swedish holdings in Pomerania.
• 1943 – Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Charles de Gaulle, and Henri Giraud (all pictured) met in Casablanca to plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II.
• 1960 – The Reserve Bank of Australia, the country's central bank and banknote-issuing authority, was established.
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A banknote from the 1896 silver certificate series of American banknotes, also known as the Educational Series. The notes depict various allegorical motifs and are considered by some numismatists to be the most beautiful monetary designs ever produced by the United States. They were redeemable for their face value of silver dollar coins.

This $2 banknote features the motif Science presenting steam and electricity to Commerce and Manufacture, designed by Edwin H. Blashfield, on its obverse. On the reverse are portraits of Robert Fulton and Samuel Morse.

Other denominations: $1, $5

Banknote: Bureau of Engraving and Printing (image courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History)

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