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Planchonella australis
Also called Black Plum, Wild Plum, Yellow Bulletwood
Planchonella australis is a medium to tall rainforest tree from eastern Australia, grown for its edible plum-like fruit and shade. It is fast growing and easy to cultivate given good drainage and regular moisture and feeding.
Planchonella australis, also known by the synonym Pouteria australis, is a medium to tall rainforest tree of the family Sapotaceae native to Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. It is known by the common name black apple, wild plum, yellow buttonwood, black plum and yellow bulletwood.
Fast growing and easy to grow, Planchonella australis adapts readily to cultivation, preferring good drainage, as well as moisture, and extra fertilising. It is also tolerant of moderate frosts. It can be used in revegetation projects, and is propagated by seed or cuttings.
The species ranges along the eastern coastline of Australia, from Bulburin in Queensland to the Illawarra region of New South Wales. It grows in various types of rainforest, with specimens on the red basalt soil of the MacPherson Range attaining a large size.
The fruit of the black apple is edible out-of-hand. It has a sweet and fibrous flesh. However, it is also favoured by maggots, which are often found inside. The taste has been reported as variable. Indigenous Australians in the Gosford region are recorded as traditionally having eaten the seeds. The 1889 book 'The useful native plants of Australia' records "Black Apple" "Brush Apple" or Achras australis as being called "Jerra-wa-wah" in the Illawarra and Brisbane Waters areas of New South Wales. The tree was originally harvested for its timber by colonialists. The attractively yellow-patterned wood is hard and suitable for making rulers.
Planchonella spectabilis · Planchonella contermina · Bastard Ironwood · Small Leaved Coondoo · Planchonella crenata · Planchonella duclitan · Shiny Leaf Coondoo · Planchonella glauca · Planchonella kaalaensis · Planchonella latihila · Planchonella luteocostata · Planchonella maclayana
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Planchonella australis 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.
