Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Melicytus dentatus
Common name
Tree Violet
Family
Violaceae
Where found
Forest, woodland, vine scrubs, heath at high altitude, rocky areas, and along streams. Widespread. On the Western Slopes mainly south of the Hume Highway. Doubtfully naturalised in the ACT.
Notes
Shrub, occasionally a tree, to 6 m high, sometimes stunted or prostrate. Branches more or less bendy, with most branch angles at about 45-50 degrees from the trunk. Branchlets often with spiny tips and slender spines along the branchlets. Petals and fruit fleshy. Bark smooth, grey, with lenticels. Branchlets hairy, becoming hairless, occasionally rough. Leaves alternating up the stems or in clusters of 2–7, mid- to dark green, lower surface paler than upper surface. Adult leaves 0.5–6.7 cm long, 2–11 mm wide, oblong to oval, tips pointed to blunt; surfaces hairless, or with minute, scattered hairs just above the base; lateral veins usually evident, margins toothed. Juvenile leaves broadly oval, usually conspicuously toothed, and often larger than adult leaves. Male and female flowers on different plants or, rarely, plants bisexual. Male flowers daphne-scented, female flowers mildly sweet-scented. Flowers off white, or yellow to greenish, 2–5 mm long, with a bell-shaped tube, and 5 lobes. Flowers hanging down, in clusters of 1-4, forming elongated leafy clusters. Ripe fruit purple-black to purple, often with a waxy bloom, bluish-grey, or completely white. Flowers winter-spring.
Was Hymenanthera dentata.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Melicytus~dentatus (accessed 25 January, 2021)
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