Vitex lignum-vitae
Encyclopedia
Vitex lignum-vitae known in Australia
as Yellow Hollywood or "lignum-vitae" (used for other plants elsewhere) is a rainforest tree of eastern Australia
. The natural range of distribution is in dry, sub-tropical or tropical rainforest from the Richmond River, New South Wales to Cape York Peninsula
at the northern most tip of Australia. It also occurs in New Guinea
.
Juvenile and coppice leaves lobed or angled. Mature leaves opposite, simple, shiny and not toothed. 5 to 13 cm long, often broader towards the tip. Leaf stalks 15 to 25 mm long, hairy and channelled on the upper side. Net veins visible on the leaf's underside. Small foveolae (raised hairy bumps) appearing at the junction of the midrib and larger lateral veins. Branchlets grey and hairy, somewhat four angled in cross section.
Pale purple flowers form on cymes at various times of the year. Most often around the month of April. The fruit is red drupe
, 8 to 12 mm in diameter with a round hard capsule inside. The capsule has four cells, each containing a fertile or infertile seed. Fruit ripens in the months of November to April. Fruit eaten by birds including the Green Catbird
and Rose Crowned Fruit Dove.
Regeneration from seed is remarkably slow and difficult. The fleshy aril
should be removed from the fruit capsule. Roots and shoots may appear after two or more years.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
as Yellow Hollywood or "lignum-vitae" (used for other plants elsewhere) is a rainforest tree of eastern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The natural range of distribution is in dry, sub-tropical or tropical rainforest from the Richmond River, New South Wales to Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
at the northern most tip of Australia. It also occurs in 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...
.
Description
A small to medium tree growing to 30 metres tall and a trunk diameter of 90 cm. The trunk is creamy or brown, with horizontal lines and fissures. Bark sheds in small flakes. Flanged or buttressed at the base of larger trees, the bole is irregular in shape.Juvenile and coppice leaves lobed or angled. Mature leaves opposite, simple, shiny and not toothed. 5 to 13 cm long, often broader towards the tip. Leaf stalks 15 to 25 mm long, hairy and channelled on the upper side. Net veins visible on the leaf's underside. Small foveolae (raised hairy bumps) appearing at the junction of the midrib and larger lateral veins. Branchlets grey and hairy, somewhat four angled in cross section.
Pale purple flowers form on cymes at various times of the year. Most often around the month of April. The fruit is red drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
, 8 to 12 mm in diameter with a round hard capsule inside. The capsule has four cells, each containing a fertile or infertile seed. Fruit ripens in the months of November to April. Fruit eaten by birds including the Green Catbird
Green Catbird
The Green Catbird, Ailuroedus crassirostris is a species of bowerbird found on subtropical forests along the east coast of Australia, from southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. Its colouring is emerald green, with faint black markings on the face and white streaks on the neck.Green...
and Rose Crowned Fruit Dove.
Regeneration from seed is remarkably slow and difficult. The fleshy aril
Aril
An aril is any specialized outgrowth from the funiculus that covers or is attached to the seed. It is sometimes applied to any appendage or thickening of the seed coat in flowering plants, such as the edible parts of the mangosteen and pomegranate fruit, the mace of the nutmeg seed, or the...
should be removed from the fruit capsule. Roots and shoots may appear after two or more years.