Denhamia disperma (Maytenus disperma)
Family: CELASTRACEAE
This little local dry rainforest tree is fruiting in Franke Scrub at present.
It’s yellow-orange seed capsules usually have one or two of the nut-brown seeds, but here’s an unusual one with three.
A neat little tree, with a dense canopy of shiny brown leaves, this would be an ideal small shade tree for a suburban garden. It is unlikely to exceed 6m high, in a garden situation.
The photo below, of a four year old tree, shows how it has a dense canopy from an early age.
Like most of our local dry rainforest trees, it is fast-growing if given mulch and water in it’s first year or two of life.
It’s a good bird- attracting tree. The dense leaves provide shelter and nesting sites, the flowers attract insects at breeding time, and the seeds provide an annual food crop.
