Scientific Name: Canthium Corprosmoides
Common Name: Coarse-leaf Canthium
Indigenous Use
Fruit was eaten when ripe.
When to Use
The fruit typically ripens from October to December (ANPSA, 2024).
Identification
Leaves: The leaves of Canthium coprosmoides are obovate to elliptic, ranging from 2-10 cm in length and 10-40 mm in width. They have an obtuse or bluntly acuminate apex, and the venation is visible on the lower surface. The upper surface is deep green and dull, while the lower surface is paler, sometimes with domatia present. The petiole is short, about 2-10 mm long (PlantNET, 2024; Australasian Pollen and Spore Atlas, 2024).
Bark: The bark is grey and smooth when young, becoming rough and fissured with age. The branches are slender and may be armed with small spines in the leaf axils, providing a characteristic texture and appearance (PlantNET, 2024).
Flowers: The flowers of Canthium coprosmoides are small and white, grouped in axillary clusters of 2-6. Each flower has a calyx about 1.5-2 mm long with five lobes. The corolla is white, with a tube 5-9 mm long and lobes 3-4 mm long, which are ciliate on the margins and conspicuously pubescent at the top of the tube. The stigma is broad and peltate (PlantNET, 2024; Australasian Pollen and Spore Atlas, 2024).
Fruit: The fruit is a compressed-obovoid drupe, approximately 10 mm in diameter, and turns red when mature. It is borne on pedicels that can lengthen to about 8 mm long, contributing to the plant’s distinctive appearance (PlantNET, 2024).
Ecosystems
Found in the below ecosystem/s.
Coastal Heaths: Coastal heath habitats have in common sandy soil low in nutrients, a low pH (between 3.5 and 6.5), and a constant supply of moisture. They are characterised by their low-growing, dense vegetation, adapted to sandy soils and frequent fires. Common plants in these areas are grasstrees and banksias. These ecosystems can be found in well-known areas such as Cooloola, Bribie Island, and Noosa National Park.
Rainforests: Sub-tropical rainforests usually consist of three strata of trees with up to 60 species making up the canopy, many with large leaves. Palms and strangler figs are common and the undergrowth is luxuriant with many epiphytic or terrestrial ferns and orchids and abundant large climbers of many species. In Queensland, rainforests can be found in well-known locations like the Daintree Rainforest, Lamington National Park, and Mary Caincross Park.
References
PlantNET – FloraOnline. (2024). Canthium coprosmoides. Retrieved from PlantNET.
Australasian Pollen and Spore Atlas. (2024). Canthium coprosmoides. Retrieved from APSA.
Australian Native Plants Society (ANPSA). (2024). Canthium coprosmoides. Retrieved from ANPSA.
Cherikoff, V. and Jennifer Isaacs, The Bush Food Handbook: How to gather, grow, process and cook Australian Wild Foods. Ti Tree Press, Sydney, 1992
Leiper, G., Glazebrook, J., Cox, D., & Rathie, K., 2008. Mountain to Mangroves: A Field Guide to the Native Plants of South-east Queensland. Logan River Branch, Society for Growing Australian Plants.