Owenia acidula F.Muell.

Species

Angiosperms > Sapindales > Meliaceae > Owenia

Characteristics

Twiggy shrub or tree 1.5–10 m tall, sometimes suckering, with bole to 20 cm diam. and wide crown; bark deeply cracked; leafy shoots 4–7 mm diam., covered with resin. Leaves c. 12–20 cm long, usually 7–17-jugate; petiole 1–3 cm long; rachis often winged. Leaflets opposite, narrowly elliptic to linear-lanceolate, 10–50 mm long, 3–8 (–14) mm wide, asymmetric and cuneate at base, acute to obtuse and mucronate at apex, glabrous, with scattered resin-dots; veins raised abaxially. Thyrses c. 6–12 cm long. Sepals suborbicular, c. 2 mm long. Petals oblong-lanceolate, 4 mm long, creamy to brownish. Drupe 2–3.5 cm diam., maroon, sometimes mottled.
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A small tree with a single trunk. It grows 4-12 m tall and spreads 4-8 m wide. The crown is dense and rounded. It can occur in clumps with several suckers. The bark is dark grey and rough. The leaves droop. They are 12-16 cm long. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk. The leaflets are 2-4 cm long and 4-9 mm wide. They are dark green. Male and female flowers occur on separate plants. The flowers are tiny and green. They have 5 petals. The fruit are plum-like. They have dark purplish red spots. They are 2-3 cm across. They hang down on long stalks. They contain one hard woody nut with 2-3 seeds.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 4.0 - 8.0
Mature height (meter) 4.0 - 10.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

A tropical plant. It grows in tropical Australia. It is more common in arid and semiarid areas. It is hardy to frosts. It needs well drained soils. It can grow in sun or light shade.
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Usually in 200–550 mm rainfall areas on the plains, in grasslands of various types on various substrates, or thin woodlands. 
Scattered on the plains.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 8-12

Usage

The fruit are sometimes buried before eating. They can be used for drinks, juices and jellies.
More
Foliage fed to stock; a good shade tree. Fruit edible, rather acid.
Uses animal food environmental use food medicinal
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

It is grown from seed. The seed are difficult to get to grow. It suckers freely from the roots.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Owenia acidula unspecified picture

Distribution

Owenia acidula world distribution map, present in Australia

Conservation status

Owenia acidula threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:579103-1
WFO ID wfo-0000388724
COL ID 75DH8
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Owenia acidula