Wild plum, Durin
Terminalia platyphylla

Family: Combretaceae

What it is like

A large spreading tree. It grows to 10-20 m tall. The small branches are hairy and often hang downwards. It often loses many leaves during the year. The bark is rough and dark grey. It has a checkered appearance with cracks along its length. The leaves are arranged in spirals and often near the ends of small branches. They are oval or almost round. They are 7-19 cm long by 3-13 cm wide. They are somewhat leathery and grey-green. They are paler and more hairy underneath. The tip is rounded. The leaf stalk is hairy and 1.5-7 cm long. The flowers are cream and have a strong smell. They are small and occur on dense hairy spikes about 5-12 cm long. These are produced in the axils of leaves near the ends of small branches. The fruit is round or oval and is 2-4 cm long by 0.7-1.5 cm wide. It is fleshy with a hard stone inside. The fruit has a beak and is purple. The shape and size of fruit varies considerably.

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

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows along creek banks in lowland country in northern Australia. It occurs on sandy soils. In tropical Australia it grows from sea level to 600 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia (country/location of origin)

How it is used for food

The fruit is edible. The sap is sucked.

Edible parts

Fruit, sap, kernel, nuts, gum

How it is grown

It can be grown from fresh seed.

In Australia the plants flower in January to May and fruit March to October.

Its other names

Local names

Marntayang

Synonyms

Myrobalanus platyphylla (F. Muell.) Kuntze;