Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Syzygium smithii

Flowers and flower buds. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, ACT

Fruiting branch. Photographer Don Wood, Booderee National Park, Jervis Bay Territory

Fruit and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, ACT

Tree. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney

Common name

Lilly pilly, Lillipilli satinash

Family

Myrtaceae

Where found

Forest and along streams. Often planted in gardens and in lawns. Coast and ranges.

Notes

Tree or shrub to 20 m tall. Fruit fleshy. Bark reddish brown, smooth, or flaky to scaly, the bark on older branches cracking longitudinally. Stems often 4-angled or shortly 4-winged, hairless. Leaves aromatic when rubbed, opposite each other, 1-16 cm long, 5-60 mm wide, very narrow to broad, tips narrowing and usually with a narrow rounded tip, surfaces hairless, upper surface glossy to dull, lower surface paler, usually with many conspicuous oil glands, lateral veins numerous and more or less distinct. Flowers fragrant, cream to white or pink, 5-7 mm in diameter, with 4-5 petals, more or less cohering by their bent upwards tips. Hypanthium about 2-4.5 mm wide. Flowers in many-flowered branched clusters. Flowers spring-summer. Fruit white to pink or purple, more or less round, 5-20 mm in diameter.

Acmena smithii in NSW.

PlantNET description (as Acmena smithii):  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Acmena~smithii (accessed 3 May 2021)