Characteristics
An evergreen tree up to 10-20 m tall. It has a widely spreading crown and a dense cover of leaves. The tree often has buttresses. The bark is slightly rough but clings tightly to the trunk. The young stems are almost round in cross section. The leaves are sword shaped and 6-14 cm long by 2-4 cm wide. They are shiny light green on the upper surface and paler underneath. They are thick and leathery and taper towards both ends. The midrib is distinct. The leaf stalk is 0.4-0.8 cm long. The flowers are about 1.5 cm wide, cream coloured and with many stamens about 1.5 cm long. The flowers occur in clusters about 5-7 cm across at the ends of branches. The fruit are round or somewhat flattened and 2 cm across. They are white but can become reddish when ripe. They have spongy wrinkled flesh with many oil glands. They are edible. The fruit have one seed.
Life form |
perennial
|
Growth form |
tree
|
Growth support |
free-standing
|
Foliage retention |
evergreen
|
Sexuality |
hermaphrodite
|
Pollination |
-
|
Spread |
-
|
Mature width (meter) |
-
|
Mature height (meter) |
-
|
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 occurs in the northern part of Australia. It is normally found near streams. They require well drained soil. It is often in the monsoon rainforest. As the ripe fruit floats in water this helps the plant get distributed.
Light |
-
|
Soil humidity |
-
|
Soil texture |
-
|
Soil acidity |
-
|
Soil nutriment |
-
|
Hardiness (USDA) |
-
|
Usage
The ripe fruit are eaten raw.
Uses |
-
|
Edible
|
fruits
|
Therapeutic use
|
-
|
Human toxicity |
-
|
Animal toxicity |
-
|
Cultivation
Plants are grown from fresh seed.
Mode |
-
|
Germination duration (days) |
-
|
Germination temperacture (C°) |
-
|
Germination luminosity |
-
|
Germination treatment |
-
|
Minimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
Optimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
Size |
-
|
Vigor |
-
|
Productivity |
-
|