Saffron Boxwood, Yellow Plum, Poison Plum, Milky Plum
Van-royena castanosperma

Family: Sapotaceae

What it is like

A medium sized tree. It grows 10-15 m high and spreads 5-8 m wide. The young growth has rusty hairs. The leaves are 2.5-12 cm long by 0.5-5 cm wide. They are sword shaped and thin and papery. They are green, and shiny on both surfaces. They taper to the base and have a drawn out tip. The flowers are about 1 cm long. They are cream. The stalks are 1-2 cm long. They occur in clusters of 2-3 in the axils of leaves. The fruit are berries 3-4 cm long by 1.5-4.5 cm wide. They are purple to black. There are 1-2 seeds. They are 4 cm long by 3 cm wide. They are brown.

There are about 150-320 Pouteria species. They grow in the tropics.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It suits the tropics and subtropics. It grows in NE Queensland in Australia. It grows in rainforest at low and medium altitudes. In tropical Australia it grows from sea level to 1200 m altitude. It needs well drained soil.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia (country/location of origin)

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Fruit, seeds

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from fresh seed.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Chrysophyllum castanospermum C. T. White; Lucuma castanosperma (C. T. White) C. T. White & W. D. Francis; Pouteria castanosperma (C. T. White) Baehni;