Ateleia herbert-smithii

Cultivation Details

Requires a sunny position^[1]. Prefers dry rocky hillsides but also found on black clay soils and can tolerate waterlogged soils^[1]. Established plants are drought-tolerant^[1]. Trees do not survive fires very well^[1]. This species is the only known dioecious and wind-pollinated species in the family Fabaceae. Both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required^[1]. Although the male trees are heavily visited by pollen-collecting social bees, the tree is wind-pollinated and the seed wind-dispersed. The wind-dispersed fruits move up to several hundred meters into open pastures. The very small geographic distribution of this tree appears to be due to a combination of its dioecious behaviour, wind pollination, wind-dispersal, and slow rate of reaching an age of abundant seed production (it can take 20 - 30 years before the trees produce seeds)^[1]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby^[2].