The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Syzygium australe

Etymology

Syzygium: From the Greek syzygos 'joined', referring to the paired leaves
australe: southern, from the Latin australis

Common Name(s)

brush cherry

Authority

Syzygium australe (J.C.Wendl. ex Link) B.Hyland

Family

Myrtaceae

Brief Description

Large shrub or small tree to 10m; smooth, light grey bark; white petals; fruit 2x2.5cm, oblong to ovoid, crimson to purple (Webb et al., 1988).

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Eugenia australis Wendl. ex Link

Habitat

Terrestrial.

Features

Large shrub or small tree to approx. 10m high; bark smooth, light grey; pneumatophores 0. Branchlets pendent, angular. Leaves aromatic when crushed; petiole < 10mm long. Lamina mostly 4~10 x 1~3.5cm, sometimes smaller near base of branchlets and below infl., often narrowly elliptic, sometimes elliptic or obovate, glossy, slightly undulate; veins numerous, conspicuous and parallel; base attenuate or narrowly cuneate; apex mostly cuspidate to acuminate, but sharply acute in obovate leaves. Cymes with 3~25 flowers, terminal or in the upper axils of short leafy branchlets, to about 15cm diam.; peduncles to approx. 4cm long; pedicels shorter, slender, angular. Hypanthium 4~6mm long at antithesis, obconic, generally dark red at least on exposed side; pseudopedicel hardly evident; calyx lobes 2~4mm long, broadly triangular-ovate, sometimes dark red, persistent on fruit. Petals around 4mm diam., free, suborbicular, white, caducous. Stamens to approx. 13mm long, white. Style generally = longest stamens. Fruit 1~2 x .7~1.5cm, oblong to obovoid, crimson to crimson-purple, usu. glossy. Seed 1 or few, large; cotyledons green. (Webb et al., 1988)

Similar Taxa

Syzygium paniculatum. In NZ, S. paniculatum is sometimes sold erroneously as S. australe. The two can be distinguished even when young from the leafy twigs, which in S. paniculatum have smooth internodes above and below the nodes, whereas S. australe has its leafy twigs "generally 4-angled or shortly 4-winged, pairs of wings running down from each petiole but amalgamating and forming a pocket or hump above the next lower pair of leaves." These can be seen in the photo on this page taken in Wellington Zoological Gardens. http://keys.trin.org.au/key-server/data/0e0f0504-0103-430d-8004-060d07080d04/media/Html/taxon/Syzygium_australe.htm S. australe appears to be a lot less common in cultivation than S. paniculatum and, compared with the latter, wild seedlings are uncommon in S. australe.

Flowering

January, February, March, April, May, June, July

Flower Colours

White

Year Naturalised

1983

Origin

Qld, NSW

This page last updated on 13 Feb 2017