Melicope micrococca

Melicope micrococca
Melicope micrococca - foliage
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Melicope
Species: M. micrococca
Binomial name
Melicope micrococca
F. Muell. & Thomas Gordon Hartley
Synonyms

Melicope micrococca is an Australian rainforest tree in the citrus family. Its natural range is from the Seven Mile Beach, New South Wales (34° S) to Maryborough, Queensland (25° S). The white euodia, white doughwood or hairy-leaved doughwood is found in many rainforest types on the east coast of Australia.

Description

A medium-sized rainforest tree growing to 35 metres tall with a diameter of 60 cm. The trunk is relatively smooth, pale brown with some corky irregularities. Mostly cylindrical in shape, though some larger trees are flanged at the base.

The opposite leaflets are in threes, mostly ovate without serrations, 5 to 13 cm long with a blunt tip. The underside of the leaf is paler than above, leaf stalks are quite hairy. The central leaf stalk of the three is longer than the leaf stalk on the left and right leaves.

White flowers form in panicles in the months of November to March. The fruit are small carpels, grey in colour, with a single black seed. The fruit ripens between January and June. Natural regeneration can be prolific in the wild, with dozens of three leaved juvenile plants appearing in open areas.

Melicope micrococca tree
Melicope micrococca flowering

Ecology

The fruit is eaten by a variety of birds, including the brown cuckoo dove, crimson rosella, green catbird and Lewin's honeyeater. Melicope micrococca is a target species for many insects, including butterflies in the family Papilionidae.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, October 25, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.