Pisonia umbellifera (J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.) Seem.

Umbrella catchbirdtree (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Caryophyllales > Nyctaginaceae > Pisonia

Characteristics

Shrub or tree to 28 m high, tomentose or glabrous; stems without thorns. Leaves opposite or subopposite, sometimes crowded towards ends of twigs or in pseudo-whorls, petiolate, ovate to elliptic-oblong, to 35 cm long, to 15 cm wide; petiole to 5 cm long. Inflorescence of terminal, branched, many-flowered cymose umbels; flowers unisexual or bisexual, white, yellow or pink, scented; peduncle 3.5–4 cm long. Perianth campanulate, 2.5–7 mm long; stamens 6–14, exserted; stigma fimbriate, exserted. Fruit elongate, somewhat spindle-shaped, 2–4 cm long, c. 6 mm wide, 5-ribbed; ribs viscid, without prickle-like glandular hairs. [The above description from Meikle & Hewson (1984) may require revision since they included Pisonia brunoniana Endl. as a synonym of P. umbellifera; see also Du Puy & Telford (1993: 100), Zich et al. (2020)-Editor, 26 October 2021.]
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Trees 4-20(-28) m, tomentose or glabrous; branches unarmed. Petiole 1-2.5 cm; leaf blade black-brown when dry, elliptic, oblong, or ovate-lanceolate, 10-20 × 4.5-8 cm, papery, glabrous, lateral veins 8-10 pairs, base broad cuneate, apex acuminate or slightly obtuse. Cymes terminal, paniculate, 5-12 cm. Flowers polygamous. Pedicel 1.5-6 mm, with 1-3 bracteoles near base. Perianth tube white, campanulate, 5-7 mm, with brown hairs, apex 5-lobed. Stamens 7-10, slightly exserted; filaments unequal, base united in a ring; anthers subglobose. Ovary oblong, upper acuminate. Style slender; stigma fimbriate, slightly exserted. Fruit subterete, slightly curved, 2.5-4 cm × 6-7 mm, 5-ribbed, smooth, glutinous; carpopodium thick, ca. 1 cm, with spreading persistent perianth at apex. Fl. and fr. autumn-winter.
Shrub or tree to 28 m high, unarmed. Leaves opposite, sometimes conferted towards the end of the twigs or in pseudowhorls, ovate-to elliptic-oblong, (6.5-)9-23(-31) by (3-)4-11(-13) cm; base acute to rounded; top acute to rounded; petiole ½-4 cm. Inflorescence terminal, branched, consisting of many-flowered umbels 3-9 cm through, puberulous or glabrous; peduncle 3.5-4 cm. Flowers bisexual or unisexual; pedicel 1.5-6 mm with 1-3 small bracteoles at the base or higher. Perianth 2.5-7 mm long, campanulate. Stamens 6-14, exserted to 4 mm. Stigma fimbriate; in the female flowers exserted for c. 1 mm and in the bisexual flowers c. 1.5 mm. Anthocarp elongate, 2-4 by 0.3-0.35 cm, with 5 viscid ribs; pedicel 0.7-1.5 cm. Seed 17-20 by 2 mm.
A shrub or small tree. It grows 5-15 m high. The trunk is 30 cm across. It is branched near the base. The leaves are alternate or opposite and in clusters. The leaf blade is oval and 6-20 cm long and 4-10 cm wide. They are soft. The leaf stalk is 2-5 cm long. The flowers are small and very fragrant. They contain both sexes. The fruit are 2-5 cm long and have ribs. They are sticky.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.3
Mature height (meter) 13.5 - 17.5
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Grows especially in wet gullies and rainforest of coastal areas in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions. On Christmas Island, frequent on the plateau and higher terraces, beneath rainforest canopy, but also on the shore terrace.
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A tropical plant. It grows in rainforest and monsoon forest. In Fiji it grows from sea level to 825 m altitude. It can grow in exposed coastal strips or in forest. It suits hardiness zones 9-11.
Moist thickets, open forests; low to medium elevations. Coastal areas, but also in everwet or monsoon forest, along river banks, creeks, on sandy clay, sandy and rocky soils, at low elevations.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses. The natives use the fruits to catch birds, see RIDL. Disp. 1930 170 . VAN DER PIJL found on the limestone hills at Padalarang sticky clusters of fruits under the tree ( VAN DER PIJL Trop. Natuur 22 1933 95 ). BURKILL ( BURKILL Dict. 1935 1755 ) mentions that the soft-wooded branches are eaten by elephants.
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The young leaves are steamed and eaten.
Uses medicinal wood
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use Ache(Stomach) (unspecified), Soap (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds or by cuttings or air-layering.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Pisonia umbellifera unspecified picture

Distribution

Pisonia umbellifera world distribution map, present in Argentina, Australia, China, Comoros, Algeria, Fiji, Micronesia (Federated States of), Indonesia, India, Madagascar, Mauritius, New Zealand, Pitcairn, Palau, Réunion, Solomon Islands, Thailand, United States of America, and Samoa

Conservation status

Pisonia umbellifera threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:605102-1
WFO ID wfo-0001086710
COL ID 7WHSZ
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 921612
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Calpidia subnitens Pisonia umbellifera