Cherry Ballart
Exocarpos cupressiformis
Attractive cypress-like tree with swollen juicy red stalks on the small fruits. Furrowed green branches are soft to the touch. Leaves are reduced to tiny inconspicuous scales.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Flora Type | Trees |
| Other Common Names | Native Cherry |
| Distinctive Features | Minute flowers in small long narrow spikes. |
| Biology | Perennial. Parasitic or semi-parasitic on the roots of neighbouring plants. Widespread in open forest and woodland. |
| Native Status | Native |
| Taxonomy | |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants) |
| Class | Magnoliopsida (Flowering Plants) |
| Order | Santalales |
| Family | Santalaceae |
| Genus | Exocarpos |
| Species | cupressiformis |
The succulent red fruit was eaten raw by Aboriginal people, and the sap of the stem was used to treat snakebite (Tas). After Europen settlement the wood was used as the bowl of pipes. The roots parasitise other plants, including grasses. Fruit eaten by black faced cuckoo shrike, king parrot and crimson rosella. Foodplant of butterfly larvae Delius aganippe.
| Interesting Facts | |
|---|---|
| Native Status | Native |