PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
Pittosporum resiniferum
Pittosporaceae FAMILY

Pittosporum resiniferum

Pittosporum resiniferum

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—

A plant of moderate to high elevations in the moist to wet tropics, where it can be found at elevations from 600 - 2,400 metres[1, 2]. It grows best in areas where the mean annual temperature is within the range 18 - 28°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,500 - 5,000mm[2]. The plant appears to be light-demanding in the wild[3]. Prefers a well-drained soil[2]. The tree can commence fruiting when 6 - 12 metres tall[4]. Tree can commence bearing fruit within five years from seed[5]. One tree yields an average 250 - 300 kilos of fruit per year[5]. One litre of high flammable oil can be obtained from 15 kilos of fresh fruits[4, 5]. There are considerable differences in the proportion of heptane and dihydroterpene found in the oil; the season and degree of ripeness of the fruits undoubtedly playing a considerable role in this respect[4]. All parts of the tree are distinctly resiniferous and have the same pleasant, orange-like odour as the fruits[4]. The flowers are fragrant[4].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe. The seed probably has a very short viability of less than 1 month[2]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 7cm with a heel[6]. Basal ripewood cuttings in a cold frame[7]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Pittosporum+resiniferum>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak Vols 1 - 6 — Soepadmo E.; Saw L.G.; Chung R.C.K. (Editors) · Forest Research Institute Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur. · 2002 · ISBN 983-2181-27-5 ↩︎A flora of the woody plants of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo, often giving details of plant uses.
  4. [4]Minor Products of Philippine Forests — Brown. W. H. · Bureau of Forestry, Manilla. · 1920 ↩︎A useful guide to some of the plants of the area, though terse on details. The book is out of copyright and can be legally downloaded from the Internet.
  5. [5]Philippine Medicinal Plants — http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html ↩︎A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
  6. [6]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  7. [7]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  8. [8]Flora Malesiana Series 1 — Various · Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch · http://www.archive.org ↩︎A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet
  9. [9]The Australian and New Zealand Species of Pittosporum — Cooper R.C. · 1956 ↩︎Rather dated, but still an excellent treatment.
  10. [10]Handbook of Energy Crops — Duke. J. · - · 1983 · https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html · ISBN - ↩︎Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.