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Fontainea picrosperma
Blushwood tree is a rainforest tree native to the Atherton Tableland in northeast Queensland, Australia, known mainly for the anti-cancer compound EBC-46 derived from its fruit. It is grown in wet tropical conditions and is not a common garden plant.
Fontainea picrosperma, commonly known as the blushwood tree, is a rainforest tree in the family Euphorbiaceae endemic to Queensland in Australia, where it grows on the Atherton Tablelands.
An anti-cancer drug known as EBC-46 has been developed from an extract of the fruits of Fontainea picrosperma. Trials have shown that it has activity against four different types of tumours, including basal-cell carcinoma, melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and breast adenocarcinoma. The fruits are toxic to humans if eaten.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Fontainea picrosperma by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
