Terminalia arenicola

N. Byrnes

Brown damson

Combretaceae Edible: Seeds, Fruit, Nuts Potential hazards — see below 67 iNaturalist observations

iNaturalist· cc-by

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

Summary

Terminalia arenicola, commonly known as beach almond or brown damson, is a tree in the family Combretaceae which is endemic to Queensland, Australia.

Description

A tree which loses many of its leaves during the year. It grows to 6-12 m tall and spreads to 5 m across. The stem is erect and the branches are horizontal in layers. The bark has a checkered pattern. The crown of the tree is neat and compact. The leaves are simple, oval and broad. They are leathery and taper towards the point. The leaves are 10-20 cm long. They have a leaf stalk. There are small tufts of hairs near the veins. There are 2 nectar producing glands on the underside of the leaf near the leaf base. The flowers are white and not easily seen. The fruit are dark red or black and are oval berries. They are 2.5-5 cm long and about 3-4 cm across. They are carried on a simple unbranched stalk in the axils of leaves. The thin layer of flesh on the fruit is edible. There is one seed inside. The seed is edible.

Edible Uses

The thin flesh layer on the fruit is edible, and the seed inside is also edible.

Known Hazards

The tree is damaged by frost and is not suitable for cold climates.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows naturally in rainforest in north east Queensland in Australia. It prefers light to medium soils. Often it grows near the beach front. It suits an open sunny position. It is drought resistant and salt tolerant. It is damaged by frost. In Townsville Anderson BG.

Where It Grows

Australia*, Hawaii, Pacific, USA,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seed. The seed is slow to start to grow. It may take 10 weeks for seed to start to grow.

Production

In Australia the fruiting season is February to October. Seedlings grow rapidly. Trees start to produce fruit after 4 years.

Notes

There are about 150-200 Terminalia species. They are tropical.

References (10)

Barwick, M., 2004, Tropical and Subtropical Trees. A Worldwide Encyclopedic Guide. Thames and Hudson p 408
Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 970
Contr. Queensland Herb. 20:35. 1977
Cooper W & Cooper W T, 1994, Fruits of the Rain Forest. RD Press p 282
Cooper, W. and Cooper, W., 2004, Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Nokomis Editions, Victoria, Australia. p 127

Show all 10 references

Djunbunji Newsletter Edition 2 2011. p 5
Hardwick, G., 2001, Economically Useful Plants for Northern Australia: Master Species List. Crusader eBooks.
Hearne, D.A., & Rance, S.J., 1975, Trees for Darwin and Northern Australia. AGPS, Canberra p 35, 110
Staples, G.W. and Herbst, D.R., 2005, A tropical Garden Flora. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. p 244
Williams, K.A.W., 1999, Native Plants of Queensland Volume 4. Keith A.W. Williams North Ipswich, Australia. p 366