Aphananthe philippinensis

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids  > Rosales > Cannabaceae > Aphananthe  philippinensis

Other links:     

Plant information 

Common name:                Native Elm

• Also, rey handlewood, axe handle wood, rough-leaved hickory and asbestos tree

Conservation status:  Least concern

Etymology:   

• The generic name of Aphananthe refers to insignificant flowers

• It was first described from the island of Luzon in the Philippines, hence the species name

Flowers:                  

• Male flowers form on small cymes

• Female flowers on the same plant, being in singles or rarely two together, forming on a 5 mm long stalk

• Male and female flowers around 5 mm long, in the months of September to November

Fruit:                         

• The fruit is an egg-shaped black drupe, 6 mm long containing a single seed

• The seed is 5 mm long, somewhat three angled

• Fruit matures from February to June

Leaves:         

• Leaves are alternate on the stem, hard, dry to touch and sandpapery, though easily snapped off and brittle

• They are prominently toothed with a sharp prickly point, lanceolate in shape, 4 to 6 cm long, 1.5 to 3 cm wide

• The leaves are green and veiny on both sides, paler below

• The leaves have a midrib, with lateral and net veins visible

• The midrib is depressed on the upper surface and raised underneath

• The midrib is pale in colour under the leaf

Stem & branches: 

• The trunk is fluted and irregular in shape, buttressed at the base

• The brown bark sheds irregularly; pustules and bumps give a patchy appearance

• Branchlets are grey in colour with longitudinal cracks

Roots:         

Habit:        

• Growing to 35 metres tall and 85 cm in width, though usually seen as a smaller sized tree.

Habitat:   

• The Australian habitat includes dry rainforest sites

• However, it is mostly seen by streams on moist alluvial soils

Distribution:                  

• In Australia it occurs from the Manning River in New South Wales to near Herberton in tropical Queensland

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • Aphananthe philippinensis is a common rainforest tree in the family Cannabaceae.

  • This plant also occurs on the Solomon Islands and in Papua New Guinea

• Ecology

  • Native elm is a food tree for the common aeroplane and rounded six-line blue butterflies

  • Fruit eaten by a variety of birds, including Australian king parrot, brown cuckoo-dove, black-faced cuckoo-shrike, figbird, green catbird, Lewin's honeyeater, olive-backed oriole, pied currawong, rainbow lorikeet, satin bowerbird, scaly-breasted lorikeet and yellow-eyed cuckoo-shrike

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphananthe_philippinensis (Jan 2024)