Blue Quandong grows to a height
of 35 metres with a prominently buttressed base, with an open layered crown.
Birds, such as cassowaries and rainforest pigeons, and marsupials are attracted
to the bright blue fruits. Aboriginals also ate the flesh of the
fruits. Loggers targeted this tree in the past because of its pale
timber, as a consequence it was over-harvested at one stage.
Leaves:
The leaves have a characteristic arrangement similar to a star-shape.
With age these leaves turn a bright scarlet, and then fall off the tree.
They are elliptic-shaped, about 10-17 in length and taper to a blunt point.
Flowers:
The flowers are bell-shaped, about 1cm long and have deeply fringed petals.
They form on the ends of the branches. These flowers attract rainbow
lorikeets and other birds, and appear from February to March.
Fruit:
The large bright blue fruits have a thin covering of flesh surrounding
a seed that resembles a ‘brain’. The fruits ripen between August
to January.
Blue Quandong grows in sub-tropical
rainforests near watercourses.
This species is a common component of
rainforests from mid New South Wales to far north Queensland.
Hauser, J. (1992) Fragments of Green
- An Identification Field Guide for Rainforest Plants of the Greater Brisbane
Region, Rainforest Conservation Society, Queensland.
Nan & Hugh Nicholson (1985, 1988, 1991,1994)
Australian Rainforest Plants I, II,
III & IV, Terania Rainforest Publishing, Australia. |
Photo:
Nan & Hugh Nicholson
|
