Macadamia tetraphylla

Macadamia tetraphylla

Macadamia tetraphylla is a plant from the family of the silver tree plants ( Proteaceae ). It comes from the south-east of Australia. Known are its edible fruit, macadamia nuts.

Description

Macadamia tetraphylla grows as a small to medium sized tree, often with short, branched just above the soil base, and reaches stature heights 3-18 m.

The leathery leaves are four of us, rarely three or five, in whorls on the branches. In shoots, the leaves are hairy and reddish light, the hair is lost later. The petiole is missing or measures more than 0.4 cm. The leaves are from 7 to 30 cm long with a width of 1.4 to 6 inches. The leaf blade is oblong to lanceolate, above the middle at the widest. The leaf margin is slightly wavy and regularly serrated prickly. The leaf blade ends pointed or with attached lace. The upper leaf surface is slightly glossy, the underside is lighter, the midrib clearly occurs on both leaf surfaces forth.

The racemose inflorescence is located 5.5 up to 38 cm long and two flowers standing in the armpit of a supporting sheet. The inflorescence axis is yellowish - brown hairy. The cream-colored or pink, hairy bracts are from 0.55 to 1.5 cm long. The anthers are from 0.7 to 2.2 mm long. The ovary and the base of the style are hairy brown.

The fruit is rounded, somewhat pointed in front, with a diameter of 2.4 to 5 cm. Surrounds you with a leathery, 2-9 mm thick shell ( pericarp ) the individual seeds. The woody, sometimes wrinkled seed coat ( testa) is 2-6 mm thick.

Dissemination

Macadamia tetraphylla is native to a small area in the north of New South Wales and southeast Queensland. It grows in rainforests.

Use

The seeds of Macadamia tetraphylla are edible. Crops are mostly hybrids of Macadamia Macadamia integrifolia and tetraphylla.