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| Category: Tree |
| Family: Pittosporaceae (Pittosporums) |
| Origin: Australia (Australasia) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: White |
| Bloomtime: Summer |
| Synonyms: [Pittosporum rhombifolium] |
| Height: 25-40 feet |
| Width: 10-20 feet |
| Exposure: Sun or Shade |
| Seaside: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
| May be Poisonous (More Info): Yes |
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Auranticarpa rhombifolia - Queensland Pittosporum - A fast growing medium sized upright evergreen tree to 35 feet tall by 10 to 20 feet wide with gray bark and a rounded canopy of 3 inch long glossy green diamond shaped leaves that have toothed margins on their upper half. In late spring and summer appear the terminal clusters of small white fragrant flowers that are followed by 1/4 inch showy small pear shaped vibrant orange fruit that are held for several months through fall into winter. Plant in full to part day sun to light shade (fruit display best in full sun) in a well-drained soil and irrigate regularly to infrequently. Surprisingly "drought tolerant" for a rainforest tree once established, but always looks better when given more regular irrigation. It is cold hardy to around 20 °F and tolerates windy conditions and near seaside planting. It is also noted as resistant to oak root fungus (Armillaria) and predation by deer, while the flowers are attractive to birds. Is a nice looking medium sized tree that is particularly attractive when in fruit, but it can also be sheared and used as a tall screening plant. All Pittosporum contain saponins that may be harmful to people and animals if ingested. Auranticarpa rhombifolia is native to the rainforests of southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. This plant was long included in the large Pittosporum genus until Australian botanists determined that a group of a northerly group of six species, including this one, represented a monophyletic group. In a paper titled "Auranticarpa, a new genus of Pittosporaceae from northern Australia", published in December 2000 in Australian Systematic Botany (V.13 pgs 903–917) this new genus was described. The name for the genus comes from the Latin words 'aurantium' meaning "red-orange" or "gold colored", and 'carpum' meaning "fruit" in referrence to the orange color of the fruit that of members of the genus have. The specific epithet refers to the rhomboidal (diamond) shape of the leaves. Other common names include Orange-Berried Pittosporum, Queensland Laurel, Australian Laurel, Hollywood, Diamond Leaf Laurel and Diamond Leaf Pittosporum. This tree was introduced into cultivation in California in 1897 by Dr. Francesco Franceschi (Emanuele Orazio Fenzi) at his Santa Barbara garden and nursery. We first grew and listed this tree in our nursery catalog from 1982 until 1986 and thank Cal Poly San Luis Obispo botanist Dr. Matt Ritter for encouraging us to grow it again and providing us seedlings that were grown at the campus nursery. For more information and more picture see Cal Poly's Select Tree listing. The pictures of the tree on this page were taken at Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden in Santa Barbara in October 2012..
This information about Auranticarpa rhombifolia displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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