''Syzygium cormiflorum'', commonly known as the bumpy satinash, is a species of ''

Syzygium ''Syzygium'' () is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The genus comprises about 1200 species, and has a native range that extends from Africa and Madagascar through southern Asia east through the Pacific. I ...

'' tree

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

in northeastern

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 ...

Description

''Syzygium cormiflorum'' can grow as a tall rainforest tree to in height with a trunk

diameter at breast height Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements. Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast, ...

(dbh). Trees with flowers on branches grow larger than those with flowers on the trunk. The trunk in the latter form has a pronounced bumpy texture. Large specimens can have buttressed trunks. The bark is fibrous and flakey. The leaves range from in length by wide. The flowers appear on the trunk (

cauliflory Cauliflory is a botanical term referring to plants that flower and fruit from their main stems or woody trunks, rather than from new growth and shoots. It is rare in temperate regions but common in tropical forests. There have been several st ...

) or larger branches (

ramiflory In plant biology, ramiflory is the production of fruit and flowers on the woody branches of a plant, formed in a previous season. The corresponding condition for the trunk of the plant is known as cauliflory Cauliflory is a botanical term ...

) over most months of the year except December and January, but peak over July to September. These are followed by white or cream fruit which are in diameter.

Taxonomy

Victorian colonial botanist

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...

described the bumpy satinash as ''Eugenia cormiflora'' in 1865, from a collection by

John Dallachy John Dallachy (c. 1808 – 4 June 1871) was a curator of Melbourne Botanic Gardens and a plant collector. Dallachy was born in Elginshire, Scotland. He worked as a gardener for the Earl of Aberdeen and Kew Gardens. In 1847, he went to Ceylon t ...

at Dalrymple's Gap near

Rockingham Bay Rockingham Bay is a bay in Far North Queensland, Australia. The bay opens onto the Coral Sea, part of the South Pacific Ocean. Adjacent to the bay is the Girramay National Park, south of which is the town of Cardwell. Goold Island is a small ...

in Queensland. It was transferred to the genus ''Syzygium'' in a revision of the genus in 1983. ''Eugenia hislopii'', named 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 bo ...

in 1913, is a synonym. Common names include white apple, wild apple, watergum, Cairns satinash, and bumpy satinash.

Distribution and habitat

The range is from

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

to the

Iron Range The Iron Range is collectively or individually a number of elongated iron-ore mining districts around Lake Superior in the United States and Canada. Much of the ore-bearing region lies alongside the range of granite hills formed by the Giants ...

from sea level to altitudes of , with

cauliflorous Cauliflory is a botanical term referring to plants that flower and fruit from their main stems or woody trunks, rather than from new growth and shoots. It is rare in temperate regions but common in tropical forests. There have been several st ...

forms more common at higher elevations and

ramiflorous In plant biology, ramiflory is the production of fruit and flowers on the woody branches of a plant, formed in a previous season. The corresponding condition for the trunk of the plant is known as cauliflory Cauliflory is a botanical term re ...

at lower elevations. It is found in rainforest.

Ecology

The fruit is not particularly palatable to humans. The

southern cassowary The southern cassowary (''Casuarius casuarius''), also known as double-wattled cassowary, Australian cassowary, or two-wattled cassowary, is a large Flightless bird, flightless black bird, found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and northeastern ...

eats the fruit and flowers. The odoriferous black ant ('' Anonychomyrma gilberti'') makes extensive tunnels in the cauliflorous form, particularly at the bumps where flowers grow.

Cultivation

''Syzygium cormiflorum'' is rarely grown in gardens. Generally propagated from seed, it can take 8 to 12 years to flower. It can be grown in subtropical climates. About 40 of these trees have been planted throughout the city of

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

in Queensland.

Gallery

File:Syzygium cormiflorum 206486536.jpg File:Syzygium cormiflorum 206486562.jpg File:Syzygium cormiflorum 227486166.jpg File:Syzygium-cormiflorum-SF22185-21.jpg File:Syzygium-cormiflorum-SF22195-02.jpg

References

External links

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View a map
of historical sightings of this species at the

Australasian Virtual Herbarium The ''Australasian Virtual Herbarium'' (AVH) is an online resource that allows access to plant specimen data held by various Australian and New Zealand herbaria. It is part of the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), and was formed by the amalgama ...

View observations
of this species on

iNaturalist iNaturalist is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe. iNaturalist may be accessed via its web ...

View images
of this species on Flickriver {{Taxonbar, from=Q7663971 cormiflorum Trees of Australia Ornamental trees Myrtales of Australia Endemic flora of Queensland Plants described in 1865 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller