Tropical ironwood
Rhodamnia australis
Family: Myrtaceae
What it is like
A shrub or small tree. It grows to 10 m tall. It may have buttresses. The leaves are simple and are 5-10 cm long by 3-6 cm wide. They are silvery white underneath. The veins around the edge is dark coloured. The leaf stalk is 5-11 mm long. The flowers are in a group in the axils of the leaves. There are 4 white petals and they are 4-5 mm long. The fruit is a berry. It is red, purple or black. It is 7-9 mm long and wide. There are 2-12 seeds. They are 3-4 mm long.
There are 24-28 Rhodamnia species. They are in Asia and the Pacific.
Where it is found
A tropical plant. It grows in tropical monsoon forest. In tropical Queensland it grows from sea level to 450 m altitude.
Countries/locations it is found in
Australia (country/location of origin)