Plant Number: 24
Common Name: Poison Peach
Scientific Name: Trema tomentosa
Derivation of name
Trema – is from the Greek word, 'trema' meaning perforation or orifice, in reference to the pitted seed coat
tomentosa – is from a Latin word, 'tomentose' meaning covered with short and curled or curved matted hairs in reference to the leaf surface
Description
- Shrub to small tree which grows to 6 metres tall often found in the margins of rainforest, moist sclerophyll forests and open rocky areas
- Flowers are very small, greenish in colour and in short clusters which occur commonly from December to March
- Produce a small, round, shiny, black berry 5-6 mm wide, eaten by small birds from March to June, when they ripen
- Toxic to stock if eaten in large quantities
- Sometimes confused with Chinese Elm, but it does not have coarsely rounded toothed edges
Acknowledgment: Save our waterways, Mountains to Mangroves