Polyscias murrayi
Encyclopedia
Polyscias murrayi, known as the Pencil Cedar is a very common rainforest tree of eastern Australia
.
It occurs as a secondary regeneration species in disturbed rainforest areas, often on hillsides. The tree is identified by cylindrical trunk; abruptly forking into many branches, and supporting an impressive dark canopy.
Other common names include the Umbrella Tree, White Basswood and Pencilwood. The range of natural distribution is from the Howe Range, just over the border in the state of Victoria
(37° S), up through New South Wales
and to Atherton, Queensland
(17° S). It also occurs in New Guinea
.
Leaves are alternate and pinnate with 8 to 30 leaflets. Opposite on the leaf stalk, entire or toothed, ovate lanceolate in shape, 8 to 15 cm long. However, leaves may be much larger on younger trees. Leaf stalks up to 120 cm long, leaflet stalks 3 to 8 mm long. Between each pair of leaflets on the leaf stalk, a gland may be seen. The midrib is white or paler green, raised under the leaf. Leaf venation is more easily seen on the top of the leaf.
Creamy green flowers form on stalks on umbel
s in the months of February to March. The fruit is a blue drupe
, usually with two lobes, sometimes three. Fruit matures from April to June. Germination from fresh seed is slow.
Fruit eaten by a variety of birds, including Brown Cuckoo Dove, Lewin's Honeyeater
, Rose Crowned Fruit Dove, Satin Bowerbird
and Superb Fruit Dove.
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...
.
It occurs as a secondary regeneration species in disturbed rainforest areas, often on hillsides. The tree is identified by cylindrical trunk; abruptly forking into many branches, and supporting an impressive dark canopy.
Other common names include the Umbrella Tree, White Basswood and Pencilwood. The range of natural distribution is from the Howe Range, just over the border in the state of 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....
(37° S), up through 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...
and to Atherton, Queensland
Atherton, Queensland
Atherton is a town on the Atherton Tablelands of Far North Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Atherton had a population of 7,068.-Roads:...
(17° S). It also occurs in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
.
Description
A small to medium size tree, growing to 25 metres tall and with a trunk diameter of 50 cm. It is unbranched at the end of the main trunk, then breaks out into a many branched crown. The cylindrical trunk is mostly smooth, greyish or brown. The base of the tree is not flanged, fluted nor buttressed.Leaves are alternate and pinnate with 8 to 30 leaflets. Opposite on the leaf stalk, entire or toothed, ovate lanceolate in shape, 8 to 15 cm long. However, leaves may be much larger on younger trees. Leaf stalks up to 120 cm long, leaflet stalks 3 to 8 mm long. Between each pair of leaflets on the leaf stalk, a gland may be seen. The midrib is white or paler green, raised under the leaf. Leaf venation is more easily seen on the top of the leaf.
Creamy green flowers form on stalks on umbel
Umbel
An umbel is an inflorescence which consists of a number of short flower stalks which are equal in length and spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs....
s in the months of February to March. The fruit is a blue 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...
, usually with two lobes, sometimes three. Fruit matures from April to June. Germination from fresh seed is slow.
Fruit eaten by a variety of birds, including Brown Cuckoo Dove, Lewin's Honeyeater
Lewin's Honeyeater
The Lewin's Honeyeater, Meliphaga lewinii, is a bird that inhabits the ranges along the east coast of Australia. It has a semicircular ear patch, pale yellow in colour.The name of this bird commemorates the Australian artist John Lewin....
, Rose Crowned Fruit Dove, Satin Bowerbird
Satin Bowerbird
The Satin Bowerbird, Ptilonorhynchus violaceus is a bowerbird endemic to eastern Australia.A rare natural intergeneric hybrid between the Satin Bowerbird and the Regent Bowerbird is known as Rawnsley's Bowerbird.-Distribution:...
and Superb Fruit Dove.