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Pittosporaceae FAMILY

Pittosporum undulatum

Pittosporum undulatum

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

This plant contains saponins[1, 2, 3]. Although poisonous, saponins also have a range of medicinal applications and many saponin-rich plants are used in herbalism (particularly as emetics, expectorants and febrifuges) or as sources of raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry. Saponins are also found in a number of common foods, such as many beans. Saponins have a quite bitter flavour and are in general poorly absorbed by the human body, so most pass through without harm. They can be removed by carefully leaching in running water. Thorough cooking, and perhaps changing the cooking water once, will also normally remove most of them. However, it is not advisable to eat large quantities of raw foods that contain saponins. Saponins are much more toxic to many cold-blooded creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish and make them easy to catch[PFAF].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—

Pittosporum undulatum is native to the temperate and subtropical climate of eastern Australia. It is not very cold-hardy, tolerating temperatures down to about -5°c[4, 5]. Succeeds in most well-drained soils of reasonably good quality in full sun or light shade[6, 7]. Succeeds in dry soils. Tolerates maritime exposure[6]. Very amenable to pruning, plants can be cut right back into old wood if required[7]. The flowers have a sweet, powerfully scented perfume at night and are pollinated by night-flying moths[8]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[7]. Although flowers usually appear to be hermaphrodite, many species of Pittosporum are functionally dioecious, with individual specimens bearing mainly or totally flowers of one sex only. Even so, occasional functionally hermaphrodite flowers will appear and, in at least some species, these flowers can be self-compatible and produce fertile seed even in the absence of any other plants of that species[9]. The species in this genus are also very likely to hybridize with other members of the genus[7]. When growing a species from seed it is important to ensure that the seed either comes from a known wild source, or from isolated specimens in cultivation.

Propagation

Seed - sow when ripe in the autumn or in late winter in a warm greenhouse[10, 7]. The seed usually germinates freely. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, move the plants to a cold frame as soon as they are established and plant out late in the following spring[10]. Consider giving them some protection from the cold during their first winter outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 7cm with a heel, mid summer in a frame. Poor to fair percentage[10]. Basal ripewood cuttings late autumn in a cold frame[7]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Pittosporum+undulatum>

Pollinators

Lepidoptera

References

  1. [1]Australian Medicinal Plants. — Lassak. E. V. and McCarthy. T. · New Holland Publishers · 2001 · ISBN 1876334703 ↩︎A very good and readable guide to the subject.
  2. [2]Flora of Victoria. — Ewart. A. J. · University Press; Melbourne · 1930 ↩︎A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.
  3. [3]The Useful Native Plants of Australia. — Maiden J.H. · Turner & Co.; London. · 1889 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Terse details of the uses of many Australian plants and other species naturalised, or at least growing, in Australia. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  4. [4]Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. — Thomas. G. S. · Murray · 1992 · ISBN 0-7195-5043-2 ↩︎Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.
  5. [5]Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books, London. · 1998 · ISBN 0-330-37376-5 ↩︎Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.
  6. [6]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  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]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  9. [9]Revision of Pittosporum (Pittosporaceae) in Australia — Cayzer L.W.; Crisp M.D. & Telford I.R.H. · 2000 ↩︎A comprehensive review of the genus in Australia
  10. [10]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.
  11. [11]A Field Guide to Australian Trees. — Holliday. I. and Hill. R. · Frederick Muller Ltd. · 1974 · ISBN 0-85179-627-3 ↩︎A well illustrated and very readable book, but it does not contain much information for the plant project.
  12. [12]Flora of the Sydney Region — Carolin. R. & Tindale. M. · Reed. Australia. · 1993 · ISBN 0730104001 ↩︎Concise flora with little beyond an extensive key, species descriptions, very brief habitat description.
  13. [13]The Australian and New Zealand Species of Pittosporum — Cooper R.C. · 1956 ↩︎Rather dated, but still an excellent treatment.
  14. [14]The Pacific Species of Pittosporum Banks ex Gaertn. (Pittosporaceae) — Haas J.E. · 1977 ↩︎
  15. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎