Ehretia acuminata 

Location & distribution maps

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms  > Eudicots > Asterids > Boraginales > Boraginaceae > Ehretia  acuminata

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Plant  information

Common name:                Koda

Conservation status:  Least concern

Etymology:   

Flowers:                  

• Flowers are white, sweetly scented, in panicles

• Individual flowers are without a stalk, about 4 mm in diameter

• Flowers appear in September to November in the southern hemisphere

Fruit:                         

• The fruit matures from January to April in Australia, in China in September

• Is a yellow or orange drupe, 4 to 5 mm in diameter, containing four seeds

• It is edible to humans with a sweet taste

• Fruit are eaten by many rainforest birds, including the Lewin's honeyeater, rose-crowned fruit-dove, brown cuckoo dove, wompoo fruit dove and Australasian figbird

Leaves:         

• Deciduous

• The leaves are alternate and simple, tapering to a tip, finely toothed, 8 to 13 cm long

• Smooth and green on both surfaces slightly hairy above

• The midrib and lateral veins are distinct on both sides of the leaf, raised beneath

Stem & branches: 

• Occasionally reaching 30 metres in height and a 90 cm in trunk diameter

• The bark is of a creamy grey colour, with vertical fissures

• Koda is often easily identified in winter as being deciduous and of the characteristic flutings at the base of the trunk

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Habitat:   

• The Australian habitat are different forms of rainforest

• Particularly near the margins or in disturbed areas

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A medium to large sized deciduous tree

Distribution:                  

• Japan, China, Bhutan, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, New Guinea and Australia

• A common tree found from near Bega in south east NSW to Cape York in far north eastern Australia

Additional notes:     

• Biogeography

  • Fossil evidence suggests an ancient Laurasian origin

  • This group of plants spread to Australia and South America via Africa, when these continents were still joined

• Cultivation

  • Seed germination is relatively easy

  • Ensure the flesh is removed from the fruit, and expect rapid germination

Sources of information:

• (2023)