''Monotoca elliptica'', the tree broom heath, is a plant in the family

Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...

, found in south-eastern Australia.

Description

Monotoca elliptica is a long-lived species which may grow for more than a hundred years. The plant is often seen as a shrub of around three metres, however, exceptional specimens may reach ten metres tall. The habitat is scrub country, often near the coast on headlands and on sand dunes. A widespread plant, it is also found away from the coast and on the ranges in areas of mid to high rainfall. Leaves are usually 10 to 25 mm long, 3 to 7 mm wide. Paler below with longitudinal leaf veins. A sharp prickle is on the leaf end. The leaf shape may be elliptic, oblong or reverse

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regula ...

. The leaf stem is 1 to 2 mm long and rough to touch. White flowers with red swollen anthers form in late winter and early spring on

racemes A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the sh ...

. Red or orange round shaped fruit form in spring and summer, 3 to 4 mm in diameter.

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples o ...

used them as food. The wood was used in early colonial times for tool handles. Bark is dark, furrowed and rough.

Taxonomy

This plant first appeared in scientific literature in the year 1793 published as ''Styphelia elliptica'' in A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland by James Edward Smith. It was collected by Joseph Banks and

Daniel Solander Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander (19 February 1733 – 13 May 1782) was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil. Biography S ...

Botany Bay Botany Bay ( Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refe ...

near Sydney in the autumn of 1770. In 1810, the Scottish botanist Robert Brown published it in his ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Nova ...

'', as ''Monotoca elliptica''. The specific epithet ''elliptica'' refers to the elliptical leaf shape.

Regeneration and cultivation

Slow and difficult to grow from seed, though after 18 months, some seeds should germinate. Cuttings may be a better option. This plant may be used in hedges. A tough and adaptable plant which responds well to pruning. left, Tree broom heath grows on the sand dunes behind Avalon Beach

References

elliptica Ericales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of Queensland Flora of Tasmania Trees of Australia Bushfood Plants described in 1793 Taxa named by James Edward Smith {{Ericaceae-stub