''Pouteria eerwah'' is a rare species of

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfo ...

tree in the family

Sapotaceae 240px, '' Madhuca longifolia'' var. ''latifolia'' in Narsapur, Medak district, India The Sapotaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants belonging to the order (biology), order Ericales. The family includes about 800 species of ev ...

. Common names include shiny-leaved condoo, black plum and wild apple. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to south eastern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, with a restricted distribution and regarded as ''endangered''. There is discussion whether this plant should remain named as ''Planchonella eerwah''. The tree was first described as ''Sideroxylon eerwah'' in 1894 by

Frederick Manson Bailey Frederick Manson Bailey (8 March 1827 – 25 June 1915) was a botanist active in Australia, who made valuable contributions to the characterisation of the flora of Queensland. He was known by his middle name, Manson. Early life Bailey was b ...

, before being moved to its current binomial name by Baehni in 1942. The species name is derived from Mount Eerwah near

Eumundi Eumundi is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Eumundi had a population of 2,221 people. Eumundi is very popular on the coast for its bi-weekly farmers' markets. The marketplac ...

in Queensland. A genetic analysis of material found that ''Pouteria eerwah'' was most closely related to ''

Pouteria cotinifolia ''Pouteria cotinifolia'' is an Australian tree in the family Sapotaceae. The common names include small-leaved plum, yellow lemon and small-leaved coondoo. It occurs in the drier rainforests from the Richmond River, New South Wales to the Wenlo ...

'', and ''

Pouteria australis ''Pouteria australis'', also known by the synonym ''Planchonella australis'', is a medium to tall rainforest tree of the family Sapotaceae native to Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. It is known by the common name black apple, wild plu ...

'' was a sister to the two species – the three forming a distinct group. ''Pouteria eerwah'' grows as a tall shrub or small tree reaching high with scaly bark on its trunk. It has leathery leaves with prominent raised veins which measure in length. Flowers and fruit can be found in any season. The flowers are a cream-green colour and hairy and are about 4 mm long. The dark red-purple to black fruit are oval to globular, measuring long, with three to five seeds. It is restricted to three locations in southeastern Queensland. It grows on rocky slopes in vine thickets and rainforest. Dominant associated species in southern populations include hoop pine (''

Araucaria cunninghamii ''Araucaria cunninghamii'' is a species of '' Araucaria'' known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine, Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine. The scientific name honours the botanist ...

''), ''

Harpullia pendula ''Harpullia pendula'', known as the tulipwood or tulip lancewood is a small to medium-sized rainforest tree from Australia. The tree's small size, pleasant form and attractive fruit ensures the popularity of this ornamental tree. The range of n ...

'', and members of the genus ''

Flindersia ''Flindersia'' is a genus of 17 species of small to large trees in the family Rutaceae. They have simple or pinnate leaves, flowers arranged in panicles at or near the ends of branchlets and fruit that is a woody capsule containing winged seeds. ...

'', and in the northern ''

Argyrodendron ''Argyrodendron'' is a genus of mainly trees in the family Malvaceae. They occur in Malesia, New Guinea and Australia. In Australia, they are a well-known rainforest species known by their Indigenous Australian name, booyong or the tulip oak. ...

'' species, ''

Atalaya multiflora ''Atalaya multiflora'', known as the broad leaved whitewood, is a rare and endangered rainforest tree of the soapberry family native to eastern Australia. The habitat is in the drier rainforest areas, often on rocky slopes of basalt. However, i ...

'', ''

Choricarpia subargentea ''Backhousia subargentea'' (syn. ''Choricarpia subargentea'') is a rare Australian rainforest tree, growing near Mullumbimby in north eastern New South Wales and from Boonah to Imbil in south eastern Queensland. Common names include giant iro ...

'', ''

Excoecaria dallachyana ''Excoecaria dallachyana'', the scrub poison tree or brush poison tree, is a species of plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae It is found from the Clarence River, New South Wales to Townsville, Queensland in Australia. The habitat is rainfore ...

'', and ''

Flindersia australis ''Flindersia australis'', commonly known as crow's ash, flindosy or Australian teak, is a species of tree that is endemic to north-eastern Australia. It has pinnate leaves with between five and thirteen egg-shaped to elliptical leaflets, white ...

''. Threats include overrunning of habitat by weeds such as lantana (''

Lantana camara ''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant within the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introduc ...

''), and in the

Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to: * Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia **Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region **Sunshine Coast Stadium * Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...

glycine (''

Neonotonia whitii ''Neonotonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the s ...

''), corky passionflower (''

Passiflora suberosa ''Passiflora suberosa'' is a species of passionflower ''Passiflora'', known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 550 species of flowering plants, the type genus of the family (biology), family Passifloraceae. Th ...

''), and umbrella tree (''

Schefflera actinophylla ''Heptapleurum actinophyllum'' (formerly '' Schefflera actinophylla'') is a tree in the family Araliaceae. It is native to tropical rainforests and gallery forests in northern and north-eastern Queensland coasts and the Northern Territory of Aus ...

'').

Feral pig The feral pig is a domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback and wild hog are Americanisms applied to feral pigs or boar-pig hybrids. Definition A feral ...

s eat the fruit and seeds.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q14912703, from2=Q717643 Flora of Queensland eerwah