Tetrardisia bifaria
(C White & Francis) C. T. White
Miniature spearflower
gbif· cc-by
GBIF
Description
A shrub up to 1.5 m tall. It spreads 30-60 cm across. The leaves are simple and 1-8 cm long by 0.5-2 cm wide. They are narrowly sword shaped. The leaves are arranged in 2 rows. The flower clusters are short with 2-5 flowers. The flowers are 0.6 cm across. The fruit are 8 mm across. The occur singly in the axils of leaves. There is one seed inside. The flesh is edible. The fruit are red.
Edible Uses
The fruit flesh is edible.
Distribution
A tropical plant. It grows in rainforest in Queensland, Australia. It grows between 40-1075 m altitude in tropical Queensland. It does best in a shady position and needs a moist well drained soil.
Where It Grows
Australia*,
Cultivation
Plants can be grown from seed or cuttings.
Production
It is easy to grow but slow growing.
Notes
There are about 250-300 Ardisia species. They are mainly in the tropics. Also put in the family Myrsinaceae.
Synonyms
References (3)
- Cooper W & Cooper W T, 1994, Fruits of the Rain Forest. RD Press p 42 (As Ardisia bifaria)
- Cooper, W. and Cooper, W., 2004, Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Nokomis Editions, Victoria, Australia. p 334 (As Ardisia bifaria)
- Elliot, W.R., & Jones, D.L., 1982, Encyclopedia of Australian Plants suitable for cultivation. Vol 2. Lothian. p 224 (As Ardisia bifaria)
