Capparaceae

Capparis arborea s. str.

BRUSH CAPER BERRY

Erect shrub or small tree to 10 m high, or a sprawling shrub in juvenile stage. New growth purplish black. Buds and young stems densely hairy with simple brownish or greyish hairs, older stems sparsely and softly hairy or becoming hairless; stipules spinose, paired at base of leaves (but some branches may lack spines), on mature branches spines 1–2 mm long, juvenile plants with more prominent spines up to 12 mm long.

Leaves simple, alternate and 2-ranked; lamina on mature plants oblong-ovate or elliptic, 5–12 cm long and 1.5–5 cm wide (juvenile plants with much smaller leaves, ovate or ovate-cordate, apex spinose and 4–6 pairs of lateral veins), apex acuminate, base rounded, tough, both surfaces hairless or sometimes the lower surface persistently hairy, mid-green; pinnately veined with 10–15 pairs of lateral veins, distinct on both surfaces; petiole 6–15 mm long.

Inflorescences axillary, flowers solitary or in pairs; pedicels 3–6 cm long. Flowers bisexual, slightly zygomorphic, 4-merous, large, showy, fragrant; sepals 4 in 2 whorls, the outer pair fused or free in bud, 0.8–2 cm long; petals 4, unequal, white, 1.5–3 cm long; stamens very numerous (>90), longer than the petals; ovary superior, 1–3-locular, on a gynophore 2–5 cm long, about as long as stamens.

Fruit firm-fleshy, a berry, globose, 2–6 cm diam., green, smooth, on a jointed stalk (pedicel plus gynophore) 5–10 cm long; seeds c. 9.

Illustration of leaves & fruit

Habitat and Distribution:

In DRf, VTs and STRf and sometimes in LRf; north from the Hunter River, N.S.W., to Cape Melville, N Qld.

Notes:

Hairy forms occur in the Macleay River valley (N.S.W.), on the McPherson Range (N.S.W and Qld) and in the Gympie district. These forms were previously misidentified as Capparis velutina , which occurs only between Bundaberg and Gladstone, Qld.

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