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Pittosporum undulatum

Common name:	Cheesewood	Family:	Pittosporaceae
Author:	Vent.	Botanical references:	200, 265
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	This plant contains saponins[152, 154]. Saponins are found in many foods, such as some beans, and although they are fairly toxic to people they are poorly absorbed by the body and most pass straight through without any problem. They are also broken down if the food is thoroughly cooked for a long time. Saponins are much more toxic to some 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[K].
Range:	Australia - New South Wales, Victoria.
Habitat:	Sheltered situations and rainforests[167, 265].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Australian Cheesewood [B,P], Victorian Box [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	undulatum = wavy edged
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Pittosporum family
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Hawaii.

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 12m by 8m . . It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to July. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Hedge Wood.

Can be grown as a windbreak hedge in the mildest areas of the country, resisting maritime exposure[167].
Wood. Used in the manufacture of golf clubs[200].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most well-drained soils of reasonably good quality in full sun or light shade[1, 200]. Succeeds in dry soils. Tolerates maritime exposure[1].
This species is only hardy outdoors in the mildest areas of Britain[182], tolerating temperatures down to about -5° c[260].
Very amenable to pruning, plants can be cut right back into old wood if required[200].
The species in this genus are very likely to hybridize with other members of the genus[200]. 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.
The flowers are powerfully scented at night and are pollinated by night-flying moths[245].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow when ripe in the autumn or in late winter in a warm greenhouse[78, 200]. 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[78]. Consider giving them some protection from the cold during their first winter outdoors.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 7cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Poor to fair percentage[78].
Basal ripewood cuttings late autumn in a cold frame[200].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers are powerfully scented at night[245].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Pittosporaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[152] Lassak. E. V. and McCarthy. T. Australian Medicinal Plants.
A very good and readable guide to the subject.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[167] Holliday. I. and Hill. R. A Field Guide to Australian Trees. 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.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. 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.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. 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.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. 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.

[260] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 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.

[265] Carolin. R. & Tindale. M. Flora of the Sydney Region Reed. Australia. 1993 ISBN 0730104001
Concise flora with little beyond an extensive key, species descriptions, very brief habitat description.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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