Tuesday 22 January 2013

Pipturus argenteus

Commonly known as the Australian Mulberry Tree, this tree is native to Australia and can be found in forests.


The Australian Mulberry Tree is a shrubby, small-sized tree that grows to about 8m. The bark is smooth, grey in colour, and lenticellate. The inner park of the tree is soft and ranges from pale yellow to green. 

The ovate leaves are simple and alternate, around 8 to 13cm long. It has a fine toothed margin. The leaf is mid green to dark green while the underside of the leaf is whitish or silverishwith hairs.  It has pink coloured petioles.


The inconspicuous flowers that grow in clusters are cream, white, or green. The flowers are dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers are found on different plants. 

The fruits are fleshy and white to brown, resembling a mulberry. They grow up to about 6mm only. The fruit is actually a achene, clustered at the nodes to form a globose multiple fruit. It is similar to a strawberry, whereby the seeds develop on the outside. 

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