Excoecaria parvifolia
Species of plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Excoecaria parvifolia is a plant in the Euphorbiaceae family, native to Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland[1][2] It is also known as the guttapercha tree, although it is botanically unrelated to the Southeast Asian gutta-percha (Palaquium gutta).[3]
| Excoecaria parvifolia | |
|---|---|
| |
| in Bradshaw Field Training Area | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
| Genus: | Excoecaria |
| Species: | E. parvifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Excoecaria parvifolia | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Excoecaria agallocha var. muelleriana Baill. | |
It was first described by Johannes Müller Argoviensis in 1864, from a specimen collected by Ferdinand von Mueller in Arnhem Land.[4][5]
It is found across northern Australia, from northern Western Australia, the north of the Northern Territory, to northern Queensland,[2] growing on seasonally waterlogged clay flats, and occasionally on semi-saline soils.[6]
It flowers in the early wet season with fruits appearing from January to April.[6]
Indigenous names and uses
The Warumungu people of the Tennant Creek area know this tree as Manyingiila,[7] and use the smoke from burning the wood to keep away mosquitoes.[7]
Other Aboriginal language names are: Gurniny (Jaminjung, Ngaliwurru, Nungali), Yilili (MalakMalak, Matngala), Gilirr (Mangarrayi, Yangman).[6]