Planchonella myrsinodendron
(F. Muell.) Swenson, Bartish & Munzinger
Northern Yellow Boxwood, Yellow Teak
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(c) kerrycoleman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by kerrycoleman
Description
A large tree with buttresses. It grows up to 15-25 m high and spreads out to 10-15 m across. The branches are spreading and the bark brownish green and smooth. Young growth has hairs. The leaves are alternate and the edge of the leaf is often wavy. The midrib of the leaf sticks out on the lower surface. There are 10-12 pairs of side veins. The leaf is up to 8-20 cm x 3-8 cm. The leaf stalk is 2 cm long with a gland half way along. The flowers are in clusters of 3-6 and are pale yellow. The fruit is a berry 2.5 x 1.5 cm across. It becomes dark red. The seed is about 2 cm by 1 cm. It is brown and shiny when ripe.
Edible Uses
The fruit is eaten.
Distribution
A tropical plant. It grows on hill slopes up to 800 m above sea level.
Where It Grows
Australia*, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, SE Asia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu,
Cultivation
Plants are grown from fresh seed.
Notes
There are about 100 Planchonella species. They are mostly in Asia and the Pacific.
Synonyms
References (8)
- Borrell, O.W., 1989, An Annotated Checklist of the Flora of Kairiru Island, New Guinea. Marcellin College, Victoria Australia. p 134 (As Planchonella obovoidea)
- Cooper, W. and Cooper, W., 2004, Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Nokomis Editions, Victoria, Australia. p 510 (As Pouteria myrsinodendron)
- Elliot, W.R., & Jones, D.L., 1997, Encyclopedia of Australian Plants suitable for cultivation. Vol 7. Lothian. p 357 (As Planchonella obovoidea)
- French, B.R., 2010, Food Plants of Solomon Islands. A Compendium. Food Plants International Inc. p 252 (As Pouteria myrsinodendron)
- Lebot, V. & Sam, C., Green desert or ‘all you can eat’? How diverse and edible was the flora of Vanuatu before human introductions?. Terra australis 52 p 409 (As Planchonella obovoidea)
Show all 8 references Hide references
- McClatchey, W. C., 2012, Wild food plants of Remote Oceania. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. 81(4):371-380
- Townsend, K., 1994, Across the Top. Gardening with Australian Plants in the tropics. Society for Growing Australian Plants, Townsville Branch Inc. p 316 (As Planchonella obovoidea)
- Triono, T., et al, 2007, A phylogeny of Pouteria (Sapotaceae) from Malesia and Australasia. Australian. Systematic Botany. 20:107-118 (As Pouteria myrsinodendron)
