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Cerbera floribunda

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Species of tree in the family Apocynaceae

Cassowary plum
Street tree in Cairns, Queensland
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Cerbera
Species: C. floribunda
Binomial name
Cerbera floribunda
K.Schum.
Synonyms

Cerbera floribunda, commonly known as cassowary plum, grey milkwood, or rubber tree, is a plant in the family Apocynaceae which is native to the region from Sulawesi to the Solomon Islands, including north east Queensland.

Description

Cerbera floribunda is a tree that grows up to 30 m (98 ft) in height. The bark is brown to grey/black, and the sap wood and heart wood are both white. Leaves are lanceolate-elliptic, glossy green above and paler beneath, alternate or whorled and crowded towards the ends of the twigs. They measure up to 30 cm (12 in) long by 5 cm (2.0 in) wide, with 13 to 20 curved lateral veins and are attached by a long petiole up to 40 mm (1.6 in) long.

The inflorescence is a much branched cyme up to 17 cm (6.7 in) with usually more than 50 flowers. The flowers have 5 white sepals, a corolla tube up to 12 mm (0.47 in) by 3 mm (0.12 in) wide with 5 free lobes at the end. They are white with a pink or red centre, are about 25 to 30 mm (0.98 to 1.18 in) in diameter, and have a sweet scent.

Fruits are a bright blue/purple drupe measuring about 10 cm (3.9 in) long by 5 cm (2.0 in) wide, slightly pointed and the end away from the pedicel (stem), with a single large seed.

Taxonomy

Cerbera floribunda was first described by Karl Moritz Schumann in Die Flora von Kaiser Wilhelms Land (K.M.Schumann & U.M.Hollrung, Fl. Kais. Wilh. Land: 111 (1889)) in 1889.

Distribution and habitat

This is a tropical plant and favours abundant water. The native range is from Sulawesi, east through the Maluku Islands and New Guinea to Solomon Islands, and south to Queensland; it is widespread throughout the range and not considered to be endangered. It is generally found along creeks and marshes and always near permanent water. Altitudinal range in Australia is from sea level to 500 m (1,600 ft).

Ecology

Fruits are swallowed whole by cassowaries, who are not affected by the toxins contained within. They then excrete the seeds later, helping to distribute them. The cassowary is the only animal able to provide this function, due to the size of the fruits, and this forms a classic example of a symbiotic relationship between the two species.

Rodents, in particular the White-tailed rat, eat the kernels after stripping away the flesh but in this case (if they leave some of the kernel behind) it is unlikely to germinate.

Toxicity

As with other species of Cerbera, and indeed many other species in the family Apocynaceae, fruits of this plant are toxic to humans. Cerbera species contain the cardiac glycoside cerberin, and if eaten will result in nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and potentially death. The white sap, which is produced from all parts of the tree, may also cause skin irritation on contact.

Uses

The timber has been used for mouldings and interior finishings in Bouganville and other parts of Papua New Guinea, and for carvings and medicine in the Solomon Islands.

Gallery

  • Inflorescence Inflorescence
  • Fruit Fruit
  • Foliage and flowers Foliage and flowers

External links

See a map of recorded sightings of Cerbera floribunda at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium

References

  1. Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).; IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2019). "Cerbera floribunda". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T147004222A147004224. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T147004222A147004224.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Cerbera floribunda K.Schum". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  3. ^ F.A. Zich; B.P.M Hyland; T. Whiffen; R.A. Kerrigan. "Cerbera inflata". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants, Edition 8. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  4. ^ Forster, Paul I. (7 September 1992). "A Taxonomic Revision of Cerbera L. (Apocynaceae) in Australia and Papuasia". Austrobaileya. 3 (4). Austrobaileya, vol. 3, no. 4, 1992, pp. 569 – 579: 569–579. doi:10.5962/p.365989. JSTOR 41738802. S2CID 260401807. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  5. ^ Quigley, Declan; Fenwick, David (2019). "Cerbera sp. (Apocynaceae) drift mesocarps: first record from British waters and a summary of previous records from north-western Europe". Cahiers de Biologie Marine. 60: 419–423. doi:10.21411/CBM.A.A9AA3201. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  6. Jones, Elizabeth; Curran, Lisa; Wright, Debra; Mack, Andrew (May 2008). "Differential effects of mammalian seed predators on the regeneration of five Papua New Guinean tree species and implications for sapling recruitment". Journal of Tropical Ecology. 24 (3): 259–267. doi:10.1017/S026646740800494X. S2CID 54710841. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  7. "Cerbera floribunda K.Schum". Flora & Fauna Web. Singapore Government. Retrieved 19 February 2021.

External links

Taxon identifiers
Cerbera floribunda
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