Psychotria loniceroides, known as the Hairy Psychotria, is a plant growing in forest areas of eastern 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...

.

The habitat is the ecotone

Ecotone

An ecotone is a transition area between two biomes but different patches of the landscape, such as forest and grassland. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local or regional...

 on the edge of rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 and eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

 forests. It is also found in the understorey of various types of rainforests.

The natural range of distribution is from the Bega

Bega

As a place name, Bega may refer to:* Bega, New South Wales, a town in New South Wales, Australia** Bega Valley Shire, a coastal local government area in New South Wales** Electoral district of Bega, a New South Wales electoral district...

 in south eastern 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...

 to Bamaga, in far north eastern 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...

. The scientific name refers to the healing qualities of some members of the Psychotria

Psychotria

Psychotria is a plant genus of 1900 species in the family Rubiaceae. Members of the genus are low trees in tropical forests. The distinction between Psychotria and the genus Cephaelis are not well known and many species were formerly placed there....

 genus. Psyche meaning life. And loniceroides suggests the leaves are similar to the honey-suckle plant, Lonicera.

Description

A shrub or a small tree, up to 5 metres in height and a stem diameter of 10 cm. The trunk is crooked with various bumps, the base of the trunk is not buttressed. Bark dark brown, fairly smooth but with wrinkles. Branchlets hairy and relatively thick.

Leaves

Leaves opposite on the stem, egg shaped, though sometimes oblong or elliptical, with an abrupt short tip. Leaves 6 to 10 cm long, 1.5 to 5 cm wide. Leaf stalk 5 to 15 mm long. Leaves softly hairy. A mid to light green above, a paler green below. Leaf veins hairy, veins prominently raised below the leaf.

Flowers and fruit

Clusters of white flowers form on a loose branching head from December to March. Fruit matures from February to September, being a yellow or creamy 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...

, 6 mm in diameter. Inside is a single oval shaped and ribbed seed.

Fruit eaten by the Green Catbird

Green Catbird

The Green Catbird, Ailuroedus crassirostris is a species of bowerbird found on subtropical forests along the east coast of Australia, from southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. Its colouring is emerald green, with faint black markings on the face and white streaks on the neck.Green...

. Regeneration from fresh seed is slow, starting after around four months. After five months, a success rate of around 64% may be expected. Cuttings are not particularly successful.