Pittosporum (/pɪˈtɒspərəm/[2] or /ˌpɪtəˈspɔːrəm, -toʊ-/[3][4]) is a genus of about 250 species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae.[1] The genus is probably Gondwanan in origin; its present range extends from Australasia, Oceania, eastern Asia and some parts of Africa. They are commonly known as pittosporums or, more ambiguously, cheesewoods.
| Pittosporum | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pittosporum heterophyllum | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Pittosporaceae |
| Genus: | Pittosporum Banks ex Gaertn.[1] |
| Diversity | |
| c. 250 species | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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The species are trees and shrubs growing to 2–30 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged or whorled, simple, with an entire or waved (rarely lobed) margin. The flowers are produced singly or in umbels or corymbs, each flower with five sepals and five petals; they are often sweetly scented. The fruit is a woody seed capsule, which bursts on ripening to release the numerous seeds. The seeds are coated with a sticky resinous substance. The genus is named after their sticky seeds, from the Greek meaning "pitch-seed".
Tarata (P. eugenioides) and kohuhu (P. tenuifolium) – both from New Zealand – and the Japanese cheesewood (P. tobira) from southern Japan are widely cultivated as ornamental plants in subtropical regions; pittosporums can also be grown indoors as bonsai. The petroleum nut (P. resiniferum) yields petroleum nut oil, which is sometimes proposed as biofuel; due to its excessive n-heptane content and consequent low octane rating, it is better suited as a source of n-heptane, which is otherwise produced from crude oil.
Many herbivores detest the resinous pittosporums, in particular their seeds, which will stick anywhere. But some animals eat them with relish, for example the kea (Nestor notabilis), which likes P. anomalum fruit and seeds. The cottony cushion scale (Icerya purchasi) is a common pest on ornamental pittosporums (in particular the New Zealand species); the sac fungus Nectriella pironii often infects Japanese cheesewood.
Selected species
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- Pittosporum aliferum Tirel & Veillon
- Pittosporum angustifolium
- Pittosporum artense Guillaumin
- Pittosporum bicolor
- Pittosporum brevispinum
- Pittosporum ceylanicum
- Pittosporum coccineum
- Pittosporum collinum
- Pittosporum coriaceum
- Pittosporum cornifolium – tāwhiri karo
- Pittosporum crassifolium – karo
- Pittosporum dallii
- Pittosporum dasycaulon
- Pittosporum divaricatum
- Pittosporum eriocarpum
- Pittosporum erioloma
- Pittosporum eugenioides A. Cunn. – tarata, lemonwood (New Zealand)
- Pittosporum fairchildii
- Pittosporum ferrugineum
- Pittosporum gatopense
- Pittosporum goetzei
- Pittosporum gomonenense
- Pittosporum heterophyllum
- Pittosporum hosmeri – Kona cheesewood
- Pittosporum kirkii – Kirk's pittosporum, Kirk's kōhūhū, thick-leaved kohukohu
- Pittosporum koghiense
- Pittosporum lancifolium
- Pittosporum linearifolium
- Pittosporum mackeei Tirel & Veillon (Ponérihouen area of New Caledonia)
- Pittosporum moluccanum
- Pittosporum multiflorum
- Pittosporum muricatum
- Pittosporum napaliense
- Pittosporum obcordatum – heart-leaved kohuhu
- Pittosporum oreillyanum – O'Reilly's pittosporum
- Pittosporum ornatum
- Pittosporum orohenense
- Pittosporum paniense
- Pittosporum patulum
- Pittosporum pauciflorum
- Pittosporum pentandrum
- Pittosporum phillyreoides – weeping pittosporum, willow pittosporum, butterbush, native apricot
- Pittosporum pickeringii
- Pittosporum raivavaeense
- Pittosporum ramiflorum
- Pittosporum rapense
- Pittosporum rarotongense
- Pittosporum resiniferum – petroleum nut
- Pittosporum revolutum – rough-fruited pittosporum, wild yellow jasmine, yellow pittosporum, Brisbane laurel
- Pittosporum rhytidocarpum
- Pittosporum rubiginosum
- Pittosporum senacia
- Pittosporum silamense
- Pittosporum spinescens
- Pittosporum taitense
- Pittosporum tanianum
- Pittosporum tenuifolium – kōhūhū, kohukohu, black matipo (New Zealand)
- Pittosporum terminalioides
- Pittosporum tobira (Murray) Aiton fil. – Japanese cheesewood, Japanese mock orange (Japan, China, and Korea)
- Pittosporum turneri
- Pittosporum umbellatum – haekaro (New Zealand)
- Pittosporum undulatum – sweet pittosporum, Australian cheesewood, native daphne, mock orange (east coast of Australia)
- Pittosporum virgatum
- Pittosporum viridulum
- Pittosporum viridiflorum
- Pittosporum wingii
References
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- ^ a b c "Pittosporum Banks ex Gaertn". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "Pittosporum". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
- ^ The first pronunciation is that expected for Anglo-Latin; the second is common in nurseries. Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
- ^ "Pittosporum". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d. Retrieved 2016-01-22.