Callicoma serratifolia

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids  > Oxidales > Cunoniaceae > Callicoma serratifolia

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:                Black Wattle  

• Possible explanations for the name, wattle :

  •  The similarity of the flowers to those of Australian Acacia, which are commonly known as wattles

  • Another is its use in wattle and daub huts of the early settlers

  • The vernacular name, wattle, used for Australian species of Acacia, derives from Anglo-Saxon times; wattles were long flexible twigs interwoven for the framework on which mud was daubed; this rural British building technique was introduced by early settlers, and an abundant local tree, Callicoma serratifolia (family Cunoniaceae), commonly and perhaps confusingly known as 'black wattle' was first used this way at Port Jackson; species of Acacia were later used as wattles in Australia

• The species has a number of other common names include callicoma, butterwood, silver leaf, silver-leaf butterwood and wild quince

Conservation status:  ...

Etymology:   

Flowers:                  

• The pale-yellow globular flower heads appear in late spring and early summer (November to December in Australia)

• These average 1.5 cm in diameter and have 1 to 2 cm long stalks

Fruit:                         

Leaves:         

• It has lanceolate or elliptic leaves that grow up to 12 cm long and 5 cm wide with coarsely serrate margins

• The upper side of the leaves are dark green, while the lower sides are white due to the presence of fine, white hairs

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A tall shrub or small tree that can grow up to 20 metres in height

• In cultivation it is more likely to reach between 6 and 10 metres with a 3 m spread

Habitat:   

• It occurs within, and on the edges of, rainforest 

• Mostly  in near-coastal areas along drainage lines or near creeks

Distribution:                  

• Native to Australia

• Occurs in near-coastal areas within NSW and south-east Queensland

Additional notes:     

• Callicoma is a plant genus that contains just one species, Callicoma serratifolia

• Taxonomy

  • The first published description of the species, in 1809, is attributed to Henry Cranke Andrews

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callicoma (2023) 

• https://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/aust.emblem.html (June 2024)