Exocarpos strictus is an adaptably versatile, densely thicketing, erect shrub bearing cherry-like fruit, that is native to parts of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 (including Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

). It is sometimes also referred to as the Dwarf Cherry, a name more commonly used for Prunus fruticosa

Prunus fruticosa

Prunus fruticosa, the European dwarf cherry, or Dwarf cherry, Mongolian cherry or Steppe cherry is a deciduous, xerophytic, winter-hardy, cherry-bearing shrub...

 or Prunus pumila

Prunus pumila

Prunus pumila, commonly called sand cherry, Bessey cherry, dwarf cherry, eastern sand cherry, Great Lakes sand cherry, prostrate dwarf cherry, Rocky Mountain cherry, or western sand cherry, is a species of Prunus native to eastern and central North America, from New Brunswick west to Ontario and...

, true cherries

Cherry

The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....

. E. strictus was described by botanist Robert Brown in 1810.

Branches and leaves

Though often hairy early on, E. strictus  branches typically become fine and vertical; occasionally they become either stout or long (rarely above 3.5 m) and bending downward with the weight of their foliage and/or fruit.

Its leaves are 1 - 3 mm in length, caducous, linear, subulate, and vary in color from light green to a bluish-green, and ashy to bronze

Flowers

The flowers of E. strictus grow in little pedunculate or sessile clusters numbering 2 - 6. They have 4 or 5, triangular, tepal

Tepal

Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...

s that measure about 0.5 mm long. The pedicel

Pedicel (botany)

A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....

 is 2 - 7 mm long, succulent, broadly obovoid, and colored either mauve, red, or white.

E. strictus flowers all year round.

Fruit

The fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

 of E. strictus superficially resemble stunted cherries. They are drupe

Drupe

In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...

s measuring 2.5 - 4 mm, are ovoid or globose, shiny, and green to purple-black in coloration.

Distribution and occurrence

E. strictus grows in great numbers in all but the very wettest and driest of habitats ranging from heathland to open forests to denser woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

.

It is common in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

, Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 and the Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...

External links

• Australian Plant Image Index has a picture of Exocarpos strictus