Black apple | |
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Fluted trunk of the black apple at Watagans National Park, Australia | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Ericales |
Family: | Sapotaceae |
Genus: | Planchonella |
Species: | P. australis |
Binomial name | |
Planchonella australis | |
Occurrence data from AVH | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Planchonella australis, also known by the synonym Pouteria australis, is a medium to tall rainforest tree of the family Sapotaceae native to Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. It is known by the common name black apple, wild plum, yellow buttonwood, [2] black plum and yellow bulletwood. [3]
Planchonella australis grows as a tree reaching a maximum height of 30 metres (98 feet), with a fluted trunk up to 120 cm (47 in) diameter, with rough brown bark. [3] The leaves are simple, measuring 8–16 cm long and 2–5 cm wide, thick and leathery. The upper surface is shiny, lower surface paler green. They taper somewhat at the apex and base, rendering a somewhat diamond-shape. The flowers are generally axillary. Resembling plums in appearance, the edible fruit are 20–65 mm long, purplish or black, containing 2–5 brown and shiny seeds, 2 cm long. They ripen from September to November. [4] The plant bleeds a milky latex when cut or broken. Pouteria australis is protogynous; that is, the female parts of the tree mature before the male parts, to promote outcrossing. [5]
The species ranges along the eastern coastline of Australia, from Bulburin in Queensland to the Illawarra region of New South Wales. [3] It grows in various types of rainforest, with specimens on the red basalt soil of the MacPherson Range attaining a large size. [3]
The first European account of the tree is in Captain James Cook's logs of his 1770 exploration of the East coast of Australia. The tree was later described as Achras australis by Robert Brown in his 1810 work Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae , [6] before being moved to its current binomial name by Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre in 1890. [7] The alternate name Pouteria australis was coined by Charles Baehni in 1942. [8] It belongs to the large genus Pouteria which occurs across the tropics from South America to Indonesia and into eastern Australia. A genetic analysis of Internal transcribed spacer RNA material found that Planchonella australis was most closely related a pair of species, Planchonella cotinifolia and Planchonella eerwah - the three forming a distinct group of Australian species within the genus. [9] An older analysis of DNA material placed it as sister taxon with Planchonella myrsinoides . [10]
The green catbird eats the fruit, [3] and the seeds are eaten by rodents and insects. [11] Scientist Tim Flannery has proposed that the existence of rainforest trees with such large fruit indicates that a large fruit-eating bird (like a cassowary) once existed throughout its range as a propagator. [12]
Fast growing and easy to grow, Planchonella australis adapts readily to cultivation, preferring good drainage, as well as moisture, and extra fertilising. It is also tolerant of moderate frosts. It can be used in revegetation projects, and is propagated by seed or cuttings. [2]
The fruit of the black apple is edible out-of-hand. It has a sweet and fibrous flesh. However, it is also favoured by maggots, which are often found inside. [3] The taste has been reported as variable. [12] Indigenous Australians in the Gosford region are recorded as traditionally having eaten the seeds. The 1889 book 'The useful native plants of Australia' records "Black Apple" "Brush Apple" or Achras australis as being called "Jerra-wa-wah" in the Illawarra and Brisbane Waters areas of New South Wales. [13] The tree was originally harvested for its timber by colonialists. The attractively yellow-patterned wood is hard and suitable for making rulers. [3]
The fruit has been incorporated into gin production in Australia. [14]
The Sapotaceae are a family of flowering plants belonging to the order Ericales. The family includes about 800 species of evergreen trees and shrubs in around 65 genera. Their distribution is pantropical.
Manilkara zapota, commonly known as sapodilla, sapote, chicozapote, chicoo, chicle, naseberry, or nispero, soapapple among other names, is an evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatán in the Petenes mangroves ecoregion, where it is a subdominant plant species. It was introduced to the Philippines during Spanish colonization. It is grown in large quantities in Mexico and in tropical Asia including India, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh.
Podocarpus spinulosus, the dwarf plum pine or spiny-leaf podocarp, is a species of podocarp native to the warm-temperate coastal regions of New South Wales and southern Queensland. It is generally an understorey shrub, rarely growing more than 2 m tall.
Pouteria is a genus of flowering trees in the gutta-percha family, Sapotaceae. The genus is widespread throughout the tropical Americas, with outlier species in Cameroon and Malesia. It includes the canistel, the mamey sapote, and the lucuma. Commonly, this genus is known as pouteria trees, or in some cases, eggfruits.
Pouteria sapota, the mamey sapote, is a species of tree native to Mexico and Central America. The tree is also cultivated in the Caribbean. Its fruit is eaten in many Latin American countries. The fruit is made into foods such as milkshakes and ice cream.
Eupomatia laurina, commonly named bolwarra, native guava or copper laurel, is a species of plant in the primitive flowering-plant family Eupomatiaceae, endemic to Australia and New Guinea. It grows to between 3 and 5 m tall, but larger specimens may attain a height of 15 m (50 ft) and a trunk diameter of 30 cm (12 in). In Australia, it is found in humid forests of the east coast, from as far south as Nowa Nowa in Victoria, north through New South Wales and Queensland to tropical Cape York Peninsula. It usually grows as an understorey plant in rainforests or humid Eucalypt forests.
Planchonella costata is a small coastal tree native to the northern North Island and to Norfolk Island (Australia). In New Zealand, its common name is tawapou ; on Norfolk Island it is called bastard ironwood. The name costata is from the Latin costatus (ribbed), a reference to the prominently raised primary nerves of the leaves.
Litsea reticulata is a common Australian tree, growing from near Milton, New South Wales to the Bunya Mountains, Queensland. Common names include bollygum, bolly wood and brown beech. The habitat of the bollygum is rainforest of most types, except the dryer forms.
Cryptocarya glaucescens, commonly known as jackwood, is a rainforest tree of the laurel family growing in eastern Australia.
Diploglottis australis, known as the native tamarind, is a well known rainforest tree of eastern Australia. It is easily identified by the large sausage shaped leaflets.
Diospyros australis is the most southerly of the group of some 450 ebonies and persimmons. It is a shrub or small tree growing in rainforests of seaward eastern Australia. The habitat is in a variety of different rainforest forms, though not often seen in the cool temperate rainforests. The range of natural distribution is from Durras Lake near Batemans Bay in south east New South Wales, to Atherton in tropical Queensland.
Helicia glabriflora is a species of rainforest shrubs or small trees occurring in eastern Australia. Common names include smooth or pale helicia, pale, leather or brown oak. They grow naturally in a variety of different rainforest types from the Illawarra, New South Wales to the Townsville area, Queensland. Of all the global diversity of approximately one hundred Helicia species, this one species naturally grows the furthest south, in the Minnamurra Rainforest and the Robertson area, Illawarra, New South Wales, there observed more on the relatively fertile basalt and alluvial soils.
Pleioluma queenslandica, the blush condoo, is a large rainforest tree of the family Sapotaceae native to eastern Australia. It is found in sea side rainforest as well as the drier inland rainforests. From as far south as the Richmond River, New South Wales to Coen in tropical Queensland, and as far west as Melville Island, Northern Territory.
Planchonella is a genus of flowering trees in the gutta-percha family, Sapotaceae. Named in honour of Jules Émile Planchon, it was described by Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre. It contains around 110 mainly tropical species, which range from Pakistan through Southeast Asia and New Guinea to northern and eastern Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. The genus is included in the larger genus Pouteria by some authorities, hence species such as Planchonella australis are also known as Pouteria australis.
Planchonella eerwah is a rare species of Australian rainforest tree in the family Sapotaceae. Common names include shiny-leaved condoo, black plum and wild apple. It is endemic to south eastern Queensland, with a restricted distribution and regarded as endangered.
Planchonella obovata is a species of tree in the family Sapotaceae. The common name in Australia is the northern yellow boxwood. It occurs in many parts of south-east Asia, Micronesia, and on islands of the Indian Ocean, and has local common names there.
Planchonella cotinifolia is an Australian tree in the family Sapotaceae. The common names include small-leaved plum, yellow lemon and small-leaved coondoo. It occurs in the drier rainforests from the Richmond River, New South Wales to the Wenlock River in tropical Queensland.
Amyema congener, commonly known as the variable mistletoe, is a species of flowering plant, an epiphytic hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae from eastern Australia. It is found on members of the genera Allocasuarina, Acacia and some exotic species.
Syzygium cormiflorum, commonly known as the bumpy satinash, is a species of Syzygium tree endemic to Queensland in northeastern Australia.
Planchonella malaccensis is a tree in the family Sapotaceae. It is named after Malacca in Peninsular Malaysia.