Trema tomentosa var. viridis
Encyclopedia
Trema tomentosa var. viridis is a forest plant. In Australia it occurs from Twofold Bay
(37° S) in New South Wales
to far northern Queensland
, New Guinea
and West Papua (Indonesia
). It previously was recorded near Mallacoota, but is now presumed extinct in the state of Victoria
.
Other common names include Native Peach and Peach-leaved Poison Bush. The Poison Peach is well regarded by rainforest regenerators for quick growth, shelter and shade and as a nursery species, and as a bird attracting plant. The habitat is rainforest regrowth, in disturbed open areas of rainforest, by forest roads and in open forest country.
s, arranged in vertical and horizontal patterns. The grey or fawn coloured branchlets also feature lenticel
s.
Leaves alternate with a finely toothed edge. 4 to 9 cm long, ovate shaped with a long pointed tip. Leaf stalk 6 to 12 mm long. Leaf veins prominent on both sides, more evident underneath, particularly the lateral veins in threes. Leaves resemble the invasive weed Lantana camara
.
Small greenish flowers in short cymes, appearing all year round, though most often between December and March. The fruit is a tiny black drupe
, 2 to 6 mm in diameter, with a single black seed. Fruit matures between February and August, eaten by a variety of birds; including Brown Cuckoo-dove
, Australasian Figbird
, Lewin's Honeyeater
and Olive-backed Oriole
. Germination is not difficult from fresh seed or cuttings.
Twofold Bay
Twofold Bay is a bay on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. The bay has an area of about 30 square kilometres. Close to North Head is a conspicuous islet, Mewstone Rock. About five km south of the islet is Red Point which forms the southern headland of...
(37° S) in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
to far northern Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and West Papua (Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
). It previously was recorded near Mallacoota, but is now presumed extinct in the state of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
Other common names include Native Peach and Peach-leaved Poison Bush. The Poison Peach is well regarded by rainforest regenerators for quick growth, shelter and shade and as a nursery species, and as a bird attracting plant. The habitat is rainforest regrowth, in disturbed open areas of rainforest, by forest roads and in open forest country.
Description
A shrub or small tree reaching a height of 8 metres and a stem diameter of 15 cm. The bark is smooth and grey, dotted with small lenticelLenticel
A lenticel is an airy aggregation of cells within the structural surfaces of the stems, roots, and other parts of vascular plants. It functions as a pore, providing a medium for the direct exchange of gasses between the internal tissues and atmosphere, thereby bypassing the periderm, which would...
s, arranged in vertical and horizontal patterns. The grey or fawn coloured branchlets also feature lenticel
Lenticel
A lenticel is an airy aggregation of cells within the structural surfaces of the stems, roots, and other parts of vascular plants. It functions as a pore, providing a medium for the direct exchange of gasses between the internal tissues and atmosphere, thereby bypassing the periderm, which would...
s.
Leaves alternate with a finely toothed edge. 4 to 9 cm long, ovate shaped with a long pointed tip. Leaf stalk 6 to 12 mm long. Leaf veins prominent on both sides, more evident underneath, particularly the lateral veins in threes. Leaves resemble the invasive weed Lantana camara
Lantana camara
Lantana camara, also known as Spanish Flag or West Indian Lantana, is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, that is native to the American tropics. It has been introduced into other parts of the world as an ornamental plant and is considered an invasive species in many...
.
Small greenish flowers in short cymes, appearing all year round, though most often between December and March. The fruit is a tiny black drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
, 2 to 6 mm in diameter, with a single black seed. Fruit matures between February and August, eaten by a variety of birds; including Brown Cuckoo-dove
Brown Cuckoo-dove
The Slender-billed Cuckoo-Dove, or Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Macropygia amboinensis, is a dove in the genus Macropygia. In Australia, it is sometimes called "Brown Pigeon" or "Pheasant Pigeon", but both are best avoided, as they can lead to confusion with the brown doves and the true Pheasant Pigeon...
, Australasian Figbird
Australasian Figbird
The Australasian Figbird is a conspicuous medium-sized passerine bird native to a wide range of wooded habitats in northern and eastern Australia, southern Papua New Guinea, and the Kai Islands in Indonesia. It was formerly considered a subspecies of S...
, Lewin's Honeyeater
Lewin's Honeyeater
The Lewin's Honeyeater, Meliphaga lewinii, is a bird that inhabits the ranges along the east coast of Australia. It has a semicircular ear patch, pale yellow in colour.The name of this bird commemorates the Australian artist John Lewin....
and Olive-backed Oriole
Olive-backed Oriole
The Olive-backed Oriole is a very common medium-sized passerine bird native to northern and eastern Australia and New Guinea. The most wide-ranging of the Australasian orioles, it is noisy and conspicuous. Not bright in colour, it is olive-backed with small dark streaks, with a light chest having...
. Germination is not difficult from fresh seed or cuttings.
Read also
- Floyd, A.G., Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia, Inkata Press 1989, ISBN 0-909605-57-2, page 401