Melicope micrococca

Melicope micrococca
Melicope micrococca - foliage
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Melicope
Species:	M. micrococca
Binomial name
Melicope micrococca F. Muell. & Thomas Gordon Hartley
Synonyms
Euodia micrococca F. Muell. Euodia micrococca var. pubescens L.R.Fraser & Joyce Winifred Vickery Ampacus micrococca F. Muell., Kuntze

Melicope micrococca is an Australian rainforest tree in the citrus family. The natural range is from the Seven Mile Beach, New South Wales (34° S) to Maryborough, Queensland (25° S). The White Euodia, White Doughwood or Hairy-leaved Doughwood is found in many different rainforest types on the east coast of Australia.

Description

A medium sized rainforest tree growing to 35 metres tall and a diameter of 60 cm. The trunk is relatively smooth, pale brown with some corky irregularities. Mostly cylindrical in shape, though some larger trees are flanged at the base.

The opposite leaflets are in threes, mostly ovate without serrations, 5 to 13 cm long with a blunt tip. The underside of the leaf is paler than above, leaf stalks are quite hairy. The central leaf stalk of the three is longer than the leaf stalk on the left and right leaves.

White flowers form in panicles in the months of November to March. The fruit are small carpels, grey in colour, with a single black seed. The fruit ripens between January to June. Natural regeneration can be prolific in the wild, with dozens of three leaved juvenile plants appearing in open areas.

Ecology

The fruit is eaten by a variety of birds, including Brown Cuckoo Dove, Crimson Rosella, Green Catbird and Lewin's Honeyeater. Melicope micrococca is a target species for many insects, including butterflies in the Papilionidae group.

References

• Floyd, A.G., Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia, Inkata Press 1989, ISBN 0-909605-57-2