''Pittosporum'' ( or The first pronunciation is that expected for

Anglo-Latin Anglo-Latin literature is literature from originally written in Latin and produced in England or other English-speaking parts of Britain and Ireland. It was written in Medieval Latin, which differs from the earlier Classical Latin and Late Latin. ...

; the second is common in nurseries. ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607) is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of about 250

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the family

Pittosporaceae Pittosporaceae is a family of flowering plants that consists of 200–240 species of trees, shrubs, and lianas in 9 genera. Habitats range from tropical to temperate climates of the Afrotropical, Indomalayan, Oceanian, and Australasian r ...

. Plants in the genus ''Pittosporum'' are shrubs or trees with leaves arranged alternately along the stems. The flowers are arranged singly or in

cymes In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis ( ped ...

, with white to yellow petals fused at the base forming a short tube, with

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s that are free from each other. The fruit is a capsule with a single

locule A locule (: locules) or loculus (; : loculi) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usually refers to a chamber within an ovary ...

that opens to reveal angular seeds.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Pittosporum'' are shrubs or trees, occasionally spiny, with smooth-edged linear to lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, on a

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

. The flowers are borne on the ends of branches or in leaf axils, in cymes or clusters with

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s that are free from each other. The petals are linear or lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, and partly fused to form a tube. The

anthers The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

are shorter than the filaments and open by two longitudinal slits. The fruit is a woody or leathery capsule containing seeds immersed in a sticky fluid.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Pittosporum'' was first formally described in 1788 by

Joseph Gaertner Joseph Gaertner (12 March 1732 – 14 July 1791) was a German botanist, best known for his work on seeds, ''De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum'' (1788-1792). Biography He was born in Calw, and studied in Göttingen under Albrecht von Haller. H ...

in ''

De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum ''De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum'', also known by its standard botanical abbreviation ''Fruct. Sem. Pl.'', is a three-volume botanic treatise by Joseph Gaertner. The first volume was published in December 1788. The second volume was published ...

'' from an unpublished description by

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...

. The genus name (''Pittosporum)'' means 'pitch seed', referring to the viscid fluid surrounding the seeds.

Distribution

Plants in the genus ''Pittosporum'' are native to some parts of southern Africa, Madagascar, Saudi Arabia,

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, Pakistan, India, some parts of China, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and some

Pacific Islands The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

Selected species

* ''

Pittosporum aliferum ''Pittosporum aliferum'' is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is endemic to New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located f ...

'' Tirel & Veillon * ''

Pittosporum angustifolium ''Pittosporum angustifolium'', commonly known as butterbush, weeping pittosporum, berrigan, native willow, native apricot, western pittosporum, apricot tree, bitter bush, cattle bush or poison berry tree, is a weeping shrub or tree that is end ...

'' * ''

Pittosporum artense ''Pittosporum artense'' is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is endemic to New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located fr ...

'' Guillaumin * ''

Pittosporum bicolor ''Pittosporum bicolor'', commonly known as cheesewood or banyalla, is a flowering shrub or small tree of the family Pittosporaceae, and is native to south eastern Australia. It is common and widespread, growing as an understorey plant in tempera ...

'' * ''

Pittosporum brevispinum ''Pittosporum brevispinum'' is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is endemic to New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located ...

'' * ''

Pittosporum ceylanicum ''Pittosporum ceylanicum'' is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is endemic to Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in Sou ...

'' * ''

Pittosporum coccineum ''Pittosporum coccineum'' is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is endemic to New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located ...

'' * ''

Pittosporum collinum ''Pittosporum collinum'' is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is endemic to New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located f ...

'' * ''

Pittosporum coriaceum ''Pittosporum coriaceum'' is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is endemic to Macaronesia, and due to extinction in the Canary Islands, it is now restricted to the Portuguese Madeira Islands. ''Pittosporum coriaceum'' is a Crit ...

'' * ''

Pittosporum cornifolium ''Pittosporum cornifolium'', known as tāwhiri karo in Māori, is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is an epiphytic plant endemic to the North Island and the Marlborough Sounds of the South Island The South Island ( , 't ...

'' – tāwhiri karo * ''

Pittosporum crassifolium ''Pittosporum crassifolium'', karo, stiffleaf cheesewood, kaikaro or kihiki is a relatively fast-growing large shrub or small tree with an erect, fastigiate growth habit. It is endemic to New Zealand. This species is self-supporting with a si ...

'' – karo * ''

Pittosporum dallii ''Pittosporum dallii'' is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is endemic to New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () a ...

'' * '' Pittosporum dasycaulon'' * '' Pittosporum divaricatum'' * ''

Pittosporum eriocarpum ''Pittosporum eriocarpum'' is a plant species of the Indian subcontinent in the Pittosporaceae family, native to Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. This taxon is threatened by habitat loss. References

Pittosporum, eriocarpum Flora of ...

'' * '' Pittosporum erioloma'' * '' Pittosporum eugenioides'' A. Cunn. – tarata, lemonwood (

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

) * '' Pittosporum fairchildii'' * '' Pittosporum ferrugineum'' * '' Pittosporum gatopense'' * '' Pittosporum goetzei'' * '' Pittosporum gomonenense'' * ''

Pittosporum heterophyllum ''Pittosporum heterophyllum'', commonly known as Chinese Pittosporum, is a species of plant in the genus ''Pittosporum''. Native to China and Tibet, it is a broadleaf evergreen shrub that grows to a maximum of tall. It has long been grown in ga ...

'' * ''

Pittosporum hosmeri ''Pittosporum hosmeri'', also referred to as Kona cheesewood, ʻaʻawa, or ʻaʻawa hua kukui, is a cheesewood endemic to the island of Hawai'i. It is a species of tree in the Pittosporaceae family. This species is listed as endangered and are e ...

'' – Kona cheesewood * '' Pittosporum kirkii'' – Kirk's pittosporum, Kirk's kōhūhū, thick-leaved kohukohu * ''

Pittosporum koghiense ''Pittosporum koghiense'' is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is endemic to New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located ...

'' * '' Pittosporum lancifolium'' * '' Pittosporum linearifolium'' * '' Pittosporum mackeei'' Tirel & Veillon ( Ponérihouen area of

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

) * ''

Pittosporum moluccanum ''Pittosporum moluccanum'', commonly known as the Atlas moth plant, is a small tree growing in found in the Northern Territory, Western Australia, as well as Taiwan, the Philippines and Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddli ...

'' * '' Pittosporum multiflorum'' * '' Pittosporum muricatum'' * ''

Pittosporum napaliense ''Pittosporum napaliense'', the royal cheesewood, is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it is known only from northwestern Kauai. It became a federally listed endangered species An endangered s ...

'' * '' Pittosporum obcordatum'' – heart-leaved kohuhu * '' Pittosporum oreillyanum'' – O'Reilly's pittosporum * '' Pittosporum ornatum'' * '' Pittosporum orohenense'' * '' Pittosporum paniense'' * '' Pittosporum patulum'' * ''

Pittosporum pauciflorum ''Pittosporum pauciflorum'' is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is endemic to China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1 ...

'' * '' Pittosporum pentandrum'' * ''

Pittosporum phillyreoides ''Pittosporum phillyreoides'', with the common names weeping pittosporum and willow pittosporum, is a shrub or small columnar tree in the Apiales order, endemic to Australia. Taxonomy This species is subject to some taxonomic confusion. It was ...

'' – weeping pittosporum, willow pittosporum, butterbush, native apricot * '' Pittosporum pickeringii'' * ''

Pittosporum raivavaeense ''Pittosporum raivavaeense'' is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is a tree endemic to the island of Raivavae, in the Tubuai Islands of French Polynesia.Pittosporum ramiflorum'' * '' Pittosporum rapense'' * ''

Pittosporum rarotongense ''Pittosporum rarotongense'' (known as the Cook Islands pittosporum, ''kavakava'' or ''Mimi-ō-‘Ina'') is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Pittosporaceae. It is endemic to the Cook Islands, growing on the islands of Rarotonga, Man ...

'' * ''

Pittosporum resiniferum ''Pittosporum'' ( or The first pronunciation is that expected for Anglo-Latin; the second is common in nurseries. ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607) is a genus of about 250 species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae. P ...

'' – petroleum nut * ''

Pittosporum revolutum ''Pittosporum revolutum'', commonly known as rough-fruited pittosporum, yellow pittosporum, Brisbane laurel or wild yellow jasmine, is a flowering plant in the family Pittosporaceae and grows in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. It is a ...

'' – rough-fruited pittosporum, wild yellow jasmine, yellow pittosporum, Brisbane laurel * '' Pittosporum rhytidocarpum'' * '' Pittosporum rubiginosum'' * ''

Pittosporum senacia ''Pittosporum senacia'' is a shrub that grows naturally on the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archip ...

'' * '' Pittosporum silamense'' * '' Pittosporum spinescens'' * '' Pittosporum taitense'' * '' Pittosporum tanianum'' * ''

Pittosporum tenuifolium ''Pittosporum tenuifolium'' is a small evergreen tree endemic to New Zealand – growing up to – commonly known as and black matipo, and by other Māori names and . Its small, very dark, reddish-purple flowers generally go unnoticed, and are ...

'' – kōhūhū, kohukohu, black matipo (

) * '' Pittosporum terminalioides'' * ''

Pittosporum tobira ''Pittosporum tobira'' is a species of sweet-smelling flowering plant in the pittosporum family Pittosporaceae known by several common names, including Australian laurel, Japanese pittosporum, mock orange and Japanese cheesewood. It is native to ...

'' (Murray) Aiton fil. – Japanese cheesewood, Japanese mock orange (

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

) * '' Pittosporum turneri'' * '' Pittosporum umbellatum'' – haekaro (

) * ''

Pittosporum undulatum ''Pittosporum undulatum'' is a fast-growing tree in the family Pittosporaceae. It is sometimes also known as sweet pittosporum, native daphne, Australian cheesewood, Victorian box or mock orange. ''P. undulatum'' has become invasive in parts ...

'' – sweet pittosporum, Australian cheesewood, native daphne, mock orange (east coast of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

) * '' Pittosporum virgatum'' * ''

Pittosporum viridulum ''Pittosporum viridulum'' is a critically endangered species of plant in the family Pittosporaceae. It is endemic to the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of Ind ...

'' * ''

Pittosporum viridiflorum ''Pittosporum viridiflorum'' (Cape cheesewood, , , , ) is a protected tree in South Africa. Morphology The leaves are obovate with margin entire and wavy, conspicuous net veining, crowded at ends of branches. Often with a single mis-formed lea ...

'' * '' Pittosporum wingii''

References

{{Authority control Apiales genera Taxa named by Joseph Gaertner