Celastrus australis —Staff Vine, Staff Climber—CELASTRACEAE
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Habitat—Widespread in warmer rainforest. Distribution—Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Description—Climbing dioecious shrub, ± glabrous; stems mostly grey to grey—brown, young branchlets with broad-ovate to triangular erose scales near base. Local occurrences— Boorganna Nature Reserve,
Booti Hill,
Brown's Creek Bicentennial Gardens,
Forster Cemetery and
Wingham Brush.
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Leaves.— Simple, alternate, toothed, branches with raised pale lenticels; lanceolate to elliptic, often falcate towards apex, mostly 3 to 9 cm long, 1 to 4 cm wide, apex acute or acuminate, margins entire or toothed; petiole 3 to 15 mm long. |
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Inflorescence— In terminal panicles on pedicels to 2.8 mm long, yellowish green. Sepals 1.5 to 2 mm long. Petals 1.8 to 3 mm long. Flowering.—October to June. |
Fruit— Capsule ellipsoid to subglobose, 3 to 6.5 mm long, light brown, inner surface with scattered red spots; seeds 3 to 4 mm long, aril orange. Ripe.—January. |
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