Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Glochidion ferdinandi
Common name
Cheese tree, Buttonwood, Hairy cheese tree
Family
Phyllanthaceae
Where found
Forest and near streams. North from just south of Bermagui. Coast, ranges, and the eastern edge of the tablelands.
Notes
Shrub or tree to about 25 m high. Seed stalk/arils fleshy. Trunk often crooked or flanged. Bark brownish, fissured, shedding in longitudinal flakes or patches. Stems hairless or hairy. Leaves alternating up the stems, 3–11 cm long, 15–50 mm wide, both surfaces green, upper surface glossy and hairless or rarely sparsely hairy, lower surface usually hairless or sometimes covered in soft hairs, tips pointed. Male and female flowers on the same plant. Flowers with 6 greenish to yellowish 'petals' each 2–3 mm long. Flowers single or in few-flowered clusters. Seed case green turning whitish pink to deep red when ripe, 10–20 mm in diameter, opening and exposing the seeds completely covered by a red aril; ripe Nov.–Feb.
var. ferdinandi: Hairless in all parts.
var. pubens: New growth, branchlets, leaves and seed cases hairy with fine hairs.
Family was Euphorbiaceae.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Glochidion~ferdinandi (accessed 18 January, 2021)
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a free mobile application:
