Breynia oblongifolia
Encyclopedia
Breynia oblongifolia, commonly known as coffee bush, is an Australasia
n shrub growing to 3 m in height. The species produces alternate, ovate leaves 20–30 mm long. Small, green flowers are produced in spring and summer, and these are followed by followed by orange or pink berries ~6 mm diameter that turn black when fully ripe. This native shrub is easily confused with the introduced Senna sp. species which prefer similar habitats and are commonly seen together in urban bushland areas the best way to distinguish the two is that Breynia oblongifolia has alternate leaves (spaced along intervals on stem) and Senna sp. has leaves opposite (leaves facing each other in pair, or technically leaflets), Senna sp. is also covered in a mass of butter yellow flowers followed by leguminous pods whislt Breynia has berries.
The species tolerates wide variety of environments, and is found in coastal tropical rainforests in North Queensland
and New Guinea
through to cool Eucalypt
woodlands in southern New South Wales
to arid Acacia
woodlands in Western Queensland. This plant proliferates in disturbed areas and can recolonise cleared sites and can pop up occasionally in undisturbed gardens, the species will spread if fire is withdrawn from an ecosystem used to being burnt at the expense of fire dependent species. This plant supports many different animals that feed on leaves, berries and flowers or may just act as beneign parasites.
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
n shrub growing to 3 m in height. The species produces alternate, ovate leaves 20–30 mm long. Small, green flowers are produced in spring and summer, and these are followed by followed by orange or pink berries ~6 mm diameter that turn black when fully ripe. This native shrub is easily confused with the introduced Senna sp. species which prefer similar habitats and are commonly seen together in urban bushland areas the best way to distinguish the two is that Breynia oblongifolia has alternate leaves (spaced along intervals on stem) and Senna sp. has leaves opposite (leaves facing each other in pair, or technically leaflets), Senna sp. is also covered in a mass of butter yellow flowers followed by leguminous pods whislt Breynia has berries.
The species tolerates wide variety of environments, and is found in coastal tropical rainforests in North Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
through to cool Eucalypt
Eucalypt
Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...
woodlands in southern New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
to arid Acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
woodlands in Western Queensland. This plant proliferates in disturbed areas and can recolonise cleared sites and can pop up occasionally in undisturbed gardens, the species will spread if fire is withdrawn from an ecosystem used to being burnt at the expense of fire dependent species. This plant supports many different animals that feed on leaves, berries and flowers or may just act as beneign parasites.