Pittosporum virgatum

Detailed description

Slender gynodioecious trees up to 8 m tall. Growth form initially narrowly columnar, becomign more spreading with age. Trunks slender grey brown, branches in distinct whorls in old specimens confined to the upper portion of the tree, bark brown, branchlets slender, pliant, brown at first covered with appressed rust-brown tomentum, soon glabrate. Petioles 1–7 × 0.5–1 mm, hairy. Leaves crowded toward branchlet ends, alternate; juvenile or lower leaves 10–40 × 1–7 mm, dark green or yellow-green, linear, entire or variously lobed, sometimes pinnate, both surfaces initially covered in rust-brown tomentum, soon glabrate; intermediate leaves 13–55 × 9–30 mm, lanceolate, narrowly linear, oblong or obovate, usually lobed or deeply divided both surfaces covered in rust-brown indumentum, soon glabrate; adult leaves 18–70 × 4–30 mm, oblong, oblanceolate, sometimes linear or linear-lanceolate, elliptic oblong, entire or sinuate, often lobed; margins flat to undulate. Flowers in 1–6-flowered, terminal fascicles, or solitary. Pedciels 5–9 mm, accrescent in fruit, covered in rust-brown indumentum, subtended by an approximate whorl of leaves, and 1–3 rust-tomentose caducous scales. Sepals 3.5–6.5 × 1–2.5 mm, oblong or linear-lanceolate, acute, rusty-brown tomentose. Petals 6–13 × 2–3 mm, linear-oblanceolate to linear-oblong, acute, fused in a tube for half of length, tips reflexed, dark red, purple, pink, white or golden yellow. Stamens 4–7 mm, anthers sagittiform or oblong-ovate, ovary 2–4 × 1–2.5 mm, rusty-brown tomentose; style 1–5 mm, stigma capitate and obscurely 2–4-lobed. Capsules 11–16 × 10–13 mm, 2–(3)-valved, subglobose to subpyriform, apiculate, coriaceous. Mucilage bright yellow to orange-yellow. Seeds 1–16, dull black of irregular shape.