Leichhardt tree
Nauclea orientalis, Fam. Rubiaceae
Medium to tall, straight tree with horizontal branching and large, broad leaves. Deciduous in late winter or early spring.
| Weed Category: | |
| Weed: | No |
| Form or habit: | Med tree, Large Tree |
| Family: | Rubiaceae |
| Leaf: | Simple, opposite, entire, elliptic to ovate, 15-30 x 10-18cm. Stipules large with rounded tips and red basal glands on their inner surface. |
| Flower conspicuous: | Conspicuous |
| Flower colour: |
White |
| Flower description: | Terminal heads of small, whitish, bisexual flowers, unpleasant smell. Spring to autumn, but the main period locally is November. |
| Fruit conspicuous: | Conspicuous |
| Fruit colour: | |
| Fruit: | |
| Fruit description: | Brown, fleshy, indehiscent, 4-5cm diameter, rugose surface, bitter taste. Contains numerous small seed. Summer to winter. |
| Habitat: | Rainforest. |
| Distribution | Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia, New Guinea, Melanesia, Malesia. |
| Food source for: | Fruit eaten by the common spotted cuscus, agile wallaby, spectacled flying fox and southern cassowary. Larval food plant of the amethyst jewel butterfly. |
| Toxicity: | No toxicity known |
| Origin: | Australia, New Guinea, Melanesia, Malesia. |
| Notes: | Fresh seed germinates in two to four weeks. Some Aboriginal communities ate the ripe fruit, a concoction of seed pulp was drunk for coughs, colds, stomach ache, vomiting, diarrhoea and fevers, bark was eaten to to induce vomiting to cure stomach ache and treat snake bite, an infusion of the bark was used as fish poison, trunks were used to make canoes and paddles. The heartwood is yellow to orange, soft and not durable in the weather. It was used for framing and flooring of many of Rockhampton's early buildings. The timber and bark yield a yellow dye. |
| Information sources: | Melzer R. & Plumb J. (2007) Plants of Capricornia. |
