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''Alectryon oleifolius'', commonly known as boonaree, inland rosewood or bullock bush (
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
), is a species of small tree of the soapberry family Sapindaceae
The Sapindaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1858 accepted species. Examples include horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee.
The Sapindaceae occur in temp ...
, native to Australia.
Taxonomy
The French botanistRené Louiche Desfontaines
René Louiche Desfontaines (14 February 1750 – 16 November 1833) was a French botanist.
Desfontaines was born near Tremblay in Brittany. He attended the Collège de Rennes and in 1773 went to Paris to study medicine. His interest in bota ...
described the bonaree in 1818 as ''Heterodendrum oleifolium'', and it was reclassified in the genus '' Alectryon'' in 1987. The species name is derived from the resemblance of its leaves to those of an olive tree. It is known by a variety of common names, including western rosewood, inland rosewood, bullock bush, cattle bush, jiggo, boonery, boneree, bush minga, applebush, and red heart.
Three subspecies are recognised: subspecies ''elongatus'' is a taller plant with greener longer leaves found in more easterly parts of western New South Wales. It grows on heavier soils. Subspecies ''canescens'' has greyer foliage and is found on limestone-sand soils and is more prone to suckering. Subspecies ''oleifolius'' is found in the more northern parts of Western Australia.
Description
''Alectryon oleifolius'' grows as a large shrub to medium-size tree to 9 m (30 ft) high, with drooping branches. The trunk has deeply furrowed grey to brown bark. The stiff long narrow leaves are greyish green and measure 3.5–14 cm long and 0.6–1.2 mm wide.Distribution and habitat
The range is across all states of inland Australia. In New South Wales it is found throughout the dryer parts of interior and west of the state, most commonly on sandy soils with limestone associated with belah (''Casuarina cristata
''Casuarina cristata'' is an Australian tree of the sheoak family Casuarinaceae known as belah. It is native to a band across inland eastern Australia.
Taxonomy
The Dutch botanist Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel described the belah in 1848, and i ...
'').
Ecology and toxicity
''Alectryon oleifolius'' sheds leaves, more commonly over the summer months. Although palatable and formerly lopped for drought fodder, ''Alectryon oleifolius'' is toxic to livestock (particularly ruminants), as it containscyanogenic glycosides
In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycoside ...
which are converted to hydrogen cyanide
Hydrogen cyanide, sometimes called prussic acid, is a chemical compound with the formula HCN and structure . It is a colorless, extremely poisonous, and flammable liquid that boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is produced on a ...
when digested. Poisoning is much more likely to occur with starving stock, and when new growth is consumed. At other times, the foliage has been eaten without ill-effects.
Some populations of ''Alectryon oleifolius'' reproduce by suckering, forming small stands of clonal plants.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4714316 oleifolius Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Rosids of Western Australia Plants described in 1818 Taxa named by René Louiche Desfontaines