Glochidion sumatranum
Plant Number: 50
Common Name: Umbrella
Cheese Tree
Scientific Name: Glochidion sumatranum
Derivation of name
Glochidion – from the Greek word 'glochin' or 'glochis' meaning projected point which refers to the toothed style of some species
sumatranum - refers to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia where it is also found
Description
Found naturally growing across eastern Australia in rainforests and humid eucalypt forests growing up to 25 m but usually 15 m high in clay or sandy soils
Roots are buttressed with bark fissured, flaky and papery
Name 'cheese tree' originated from the fruit's resemblance to small cheese wheels and are 20 mm in size but are also described as pumpkin-shaped, which are green at first before turning shades of white and pink
Fruit when they split open reveal bright red 0.5 cm seeds from November to April
Plants rely on the leafflower moths (Epicephala spp.) for its pollination and they also lay their eggs inside the flowers, where their caterpillars later consume the developing seeds in the fruit
Umbrella Cheese Tree fruit has an empty carpel chamber where E. colymbetella caterpillars pupate, and adult moths emerge
Live for more than 60 years and seeds take 1-4 months to germinate
- Is able to resprout after brushfire
Human uses
The dried fruit, are found in potpourri and sold as "putka pods".
The fruits are eaten by several bird species and the leaves eaten by larvae of Shining Pencil-blue (Candalides helenita) and Common Oak-blue (Arhopala micale) butterflies.
Acknowledgment: Mangroves to Mountain, Australian Tropical
Rainforest Plants, The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia
Photo credit: Tatiana Gerus & Mark Marathon