Planchonia careya - the Cocky Apple Tree.

Planchonia careya is a tree that is native to my part of Oz ... it is only found across northern Australia and the largest concentration of them is right here in my region.  It is in fact the only member of its genus here in Australia ... facts like this amaze me and I've grown to really appreciate this rather unsightly tree that's so prevalent in the bush that surrounds my home.

It is such a scraggly looking tree!  It's small  ... it only grows to around 4-10 metres high ... with rough, grey, slightly fissured bark.

The leaves are egg-shaped or spatula-shaped, tapering to the base, shiny light green above, dull beneath, and are rather soft and leathery to the touch.  This tree is deciduous in the 'dry' season and the leaves turn rusty-orange before falling.

OK ... the tree is not a great looker, but now we come to the flowers ... these are quite simply superb!

The flowering period is from late spring (September) through the summer (December to  February).  While each flower is truly outstanding, the flowering tree is really not that spectacular.  Only a few flowers are produced at a time and you have to be 'in the know' to spot them as they open in the evening and fall by the next morning leaving a carpet of flowers on the ground.

Flowers are large, white and fleshy with numerous long pink and white stamens.

In the following photo you can see the flower bud just below the open bloom ... that green outer casing peels back ...

... and the stamens are revealed!

A terrific thing about this bloom is the way it opens ...it has a spiral action as it opens.

The fruit is green, egg-shaped and smooth.  Apparently it's edible although I've never given it a go.  It was a widely used food of the Aboriginal people who populated this area ... so it earns the title of 'bush tucker'.  Inside it has yellow flesh and is supposed to taste like a quince when it's ripe.

Many parts of the plant were also used for a wide range of medicinal purposes by the Aboriginal people.  One example ... the Aborigines used a concoction made from the bark to clean wounds such as burns and ulcers.   The bark ... which contains something called Saponin ... was also used as a fish poison. It was pounded and thrown into pools of water, killing the fish which could then be eaten without any ill-effect.

The common name ... Cocky Apple ... came about because the fruit is readily eaten by cockatoos and looks a little like a green apple.  While the Cocky Apple tree is very, very common in the bushland here, you won't find this tree in any nursery ... it has never been cultivated for the nursery market.  You will have to visit my part of the world to catch a glimpse of this unusual specimen.