Notelaea longifolia
Notelaea longifolia is a very common shrub or small tree in eastern Australia. Occurring in or adjacent to rainforest from Mimosa Rocks National Park (37° S) to Bamaga (11° S) in far north Queensland. Common names include large mock-olive or long-leaved-olive. An attractive ornamental plant.
| Large mock-olive | |
|---|---|
| Large mock-olive on a sand dune behind Seven Mile Beach, New South Wales, Australia | |
| Flowers: Bangalley Head, Avalon, New South Wales | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Oleaceae |
| Genus: | Notelaea |
| Species: | N. longifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Notelaea longifolia | |
| Collections data from AVH | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
| |
Description
Usually a shrub is around 3 metres tall, but occasionally it can be up to 9 metres tall, with a trunk diameter of 30 cm. The trunk is often crooked, the crown wide and dense. Grey brown bark is scaly, fissured and hard. Branchlets have small pale lenticels, otherwise pale brown and slender.
Leaves
Leaves variable in size and shape. Some narrow lanceolate, others lanceolate and some a broad ovate shape. 3 to 16 cm long, 1 to 6 cm wide. Sometimes with a prominent tip, other times blunt. Leaves gradually tapering at the stem end. Dark green above, duller below, stiff and dry to touch. Leaf stalks absent or up to 8 mm long. Leaves veiny, but net veins are irregular and not as distinct as in Notelaea venosa.
Flowers and fruit
Pale yellow flowers usually form between April and October on racemes at the leaf axils. Racemes are 2 cm long. Fruit matures from November to March. Being a dark blue or black fleshy drupe 10 to 16 mm long with a single pointed or egg shaped seed, 8 to 12 mm long. Regeneration from fresh seed is slow, taking up to a year.
References
- ^ a b "APNI Notelaea longifolia". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ a b Ventenat, E.P. (1803), Choix de Plantes, dont la plupart sont cultivees dans le jardin de Cels 5: 25, t. 25
- ^ "Notelaea longifolia Vent.". Kwe Science | Plants of the World online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- Floyd, A. G. (1989). Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia (1st ed.). Port Melbourne: Elsevier Australia - Inkata Imprint, copyright Forestry Commission of New South Wales (published 1989-12-01). p. 275. ISBN 0-909605-57-2. Retrieved 2010-02-13. (other publication details, included in citation)
- "Notelaea longifolia". PlantNET - NSW Flora Online. Retrieved 2010-10-12.