Kingdom Plantae Family Cannabaceae Scientific name Celtis paniculata | Order Rosales Genus Celtis Rank Species | |
 | ||
Similar Celtis lindheimeri, Celtis luzonica, Celtis tenuifolia, Celtis iguanaea, Celtis tournefortii | ||
Celtis paniculata, is a coastal rainforest tree. In Australia it occurs from Kiama (34° S) in New South Wales to the Endeavour River (15° S) in tropical Queensland. It also grows at Norfolk Island, rastern Malesia, Micronesia, and eestern Polynesia. In Australia it is known as the commonly known as native celtis, silky celtis, native hackberry, or investigator tree.
Contents
It is a food tree for the blue beak, common aeroplane, tailed emperor and other butterflies.
Description
Growing to 40 metres tall and 90 cm in width. The trunk is mostly cylindrical and somewhat buttressed at the base. The bark is thin, brown and smooth, with pustular vertical lines.
Leaves
See leaf shape in this CSIRO sample. More mature leaves sometimes have this shape toothed to crenate Leaves are alternate and simple, smooth, not toothed 6 to 10 cm long with a pointed tip. The leaf stalk is somewhat channelled and flattened on the top, and 6 to 10 mm in length. Both sides of the leaf are a dull green. With a hand lens, translucent glands may be seen in the leaves.
The base of the leaf is often oblique, that is of being of unequal length on either side of the leaf stem. Leaf venation is more evident under the leaf. An identifying feature is the intramarginal leaf vein, which starts at the leaf base and travels on either edge of the leaf. Of a distance of a quarter to a half of the length of the leaf.
Flowers and fruit
Green flowers in cymes appear from December to January. The fruit is a round shaped drupe, 8 to 10 mm long containing a single seed. Fruit matures from August to March.