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Pittosporum moluccanum

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Pittosporum moluccanum
Pittosporum moluccanum at East Point, Darwin
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Pittosporaceae
Genus: Pittosporum
Species:
P. moluccanum
Binomial name
Pittosporum moluccanum
(Lam.) Miq.

Pittosporum moluccanum, commonly known as the Atlas moth plant, is a small tree growing in found in the Northern Territory, Western Australia, as well as Taiwan, the Philippines and Malesia.[1]

Description

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Pittosporum moluccanum at East Point in Darwin.

Pittosporum moluccanum is a small, rounded, dioecious tree that grows to around 7 metres.

It flowers in from February to August in dry in monsoonal northern Australia.

Fruits are 1 to 2 centimeter long capsules that ripen with an orange-brown, inner bright yellow with a red placentaand seeds around 2–4 mm long.

It is a host plant for the Atlas Moth.[2]

Taxonomy

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Pittosporum moluccanum was circumscribed by Bakker in 1957. It is described as a complex of species that extend from Taiwan, Philippines, Celebes, Moluccas, Malaysia, Eastern Java, Java and the lesser Sunda Island. The Australian species found in the Northern Territory and Western Australia appears to be the common with the eastern Indonesian coastal species Pittosporum timorense.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Profile". profiles.ala.org.au. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Pittosporum moluccanum (Atlas Moth Plant)". Territory Native Plants. Retrieved 1 April 2024.