Pittosporum undulatum
Pittosporum undulatum
Safety & Hazards
This plant contains saponins[ 152 Title Australian Medicinal Plants. Publication Author Lassak. E. V. and McCarthy. T. Publisher New Holland Publishers Year 2001 ISBN 1876334703 Description A very good and readable guide to the subject. , 154 Title Flora of Victoria. Publication Author Ewart. A. J. Publisher University Press; Melbourne Year 1930 ISBN Description A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project. , 601 Title The Useful Native Plants of Australia. Publication Author Maiden J.H. Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org Publisher Turner & Co.; London. Year 1889 ISBN Description 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. ]. 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[ K Title Plants for a Future Author Ken Fern Description Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips. ].
Botanical Description
Pittosporum undulatum is an evergreen tree with a rounded canopy; it can grow up to 13 metres tall[ 1685 Title Revision of Pittosporum (Pittosporaceae) in Australia Publication Australian Systematic Botany 13, 845-902, 2000 Author Cayzer L.W.; Crisp M.D. & Telford I.R.H. Publisher Year 2000 ISBN Description A comprehensive review of the genus in Australia ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a source of materials. It has been recommended fr cultivation as a source of essential oils and is grown as an ornamental, where it is often used as a hedge. Pittosporum undulatum has been introduced as a windbreak and ornamental plant to many areas outside its native range. The plant presents its seeds attractively packaged and cohering for easy bird dispersal and seed production is enormous on female trees. This, coupled with a vigorous rhizomatous root system that survives all but the most intense wild fires, and a habit of holding the large leaves horizontally (hence blocking light from other seedlings), ensures very rapid colonisation, particularly on disturbed sites. It has often escaped from cultivation and become established, and is considered to be an invasive weed in several areas including California, the Azores and southeastern Australia[ 1685 Title Revision of Pittosporum (Pittosporaceae) in Australia Publication Australian Systematic Botany 13, 845-902, 2000 Author Cayzer L.W.; Crisp M.D. & Telford I.R.H. Publisher Year 2000 ISBN Description A comprehensive review of the genus in Australia ]. Restricting horticultural plantings to male plants is not a solution as most of these plants also produce occasional fruits and all forms are self-compatible[ 1685 Title Revision of Pittosporum (Pittosporaceae) in Australia Publication Australian Systematic Botany 13, 845-902, 2000 Author Cayzer L.W.; Crisp M.D. & Telford I.R.H. Publisher Year 2000 ISBN Description A comprehensive review of the genus in Australia ].