Girn girnirr
Terminalia erythrocarpa

Family: Combretaceae

What it is like

A small tree. It loses its leaves during the year. It grows up to 10 m tall. The bark is light grey, rough and cracked along its length. The leaves are arranged in spirals. They are smooth and narrow and taper towards the base. The leaf blade is 9-20 cm long and 206 cm wide. It is light green on the upper surface and paler underneath. The tip is pointed. The leaf stalk is 2.5-7 cm long. The flowers are small and cream. They occur on spikes 5-10 cm long. These are produced in the leaf axils near the ends of small branches. The fruit are smooth, oval and fleshy. They are about 1.5 cm long by 1 cm wide and with a distinct beak. The fruit are purple or red when ripe. They have a thin flesh around a single seeded woody shell.

There are about 200-250 Terminalia species. They are tropical.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It occurs in the Northern Territory in Australia. It normally grows near streams. It grows in moist sandy soil. It grows from sea level to 200 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia (country/location of origin)

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten especially by children.

The fruit are eaten especially by children.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. The seed should be planted fresh.

In Australia flowering occurs October to December and fruiting from February to June.

Its other names

Local names

Anbikkurrudj

Synonyms

Myrobalanus erythrocarpa (F. Muell.) Kuntze;