Eupomatia laurina facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eupomatia laurina |
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| Bolwarra flowering in cultivation in Sydney | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Eupomatia
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| Species: |
laurina
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Eupomatia laurina, commonly called bolwarra or sometimes native guava, is a unique plant from an ancient Australian plant family. It can be a shrub or a small tree. Bolwarra plants usually grow between 3 and 5 metres (10 to 16 feet) tall. Some can even reach up to 15 metres (49 feet) high!
These plants grow naturally in eastern Australia and New Guinea. In Australia, you can find them from southern Victoria all the way north to the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. They like to live in humid places like rainforests or wet eucalypt forests. Bolwarra is a very old type of flowering plant.
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Bolwarra: The Native Guava Tree
What is Bolwarra?
Bolwarra is a special plant known for its shiny, oblong leaves. These leaves are usually between 5 and 20 centimetres (2 to 8 inches) long. The plant produces round, green fruits that look a bit like urns. When they are ripe, they turn yellow.
The fruits are about 15 to 20 millimetres (0.6 to 0.8 inches) wide. Inside, they have a pale, edible jelly-like flesh. This flesh is mixed with many small seeds, similar to how a guava fruit looks inside.
Bolwarra's Flowers and Reproduction
Bolwarra flowers are pollinated by tiny weevils. These small insects help the plant make new seeds. One type of weevil that helps is called Elleschodes hamiltoni.
If you want to grow a bolwarra, it's best to use seeds. Fresh seeds usually start to sprout after about three weeks. Most of them will have grown into seedlings within five weeks. Growing bolwarra from cuttings is not usually recommended.
The Tasty Fruit
The fruit of the bolwarra plant is sweet and has a strong smell. It is often used in cooking as a spice-fruit. People add it to drinks, jams, and desserts.
Because its flavour is quite strong, it's often used with other ingredients. This helps to balance its taste. Bolwarra is considered one of the interesting Australian spices.
Growing Bolwarra in Your Garden
If you want to grow bolwarra, you should know a few things. These plants don't like frost, so they need a protected spot. They also prefer a place that is partly shaded.
You can grow bolwarra from seeds or from cuttings. If you grow a tree from a cutting, it might produce fruit in about two years. However, if you grow it from a seed, it will take longer. Seedlings usually need four to six years before they start to produce fruit.
Bolwarra's Relatives
The Eupomatia plant family is quite small. Besides Eupomatia laurina (bolwarra), there are only two other known species. These two relatives are found in very specific, small areas of Australia. They are separated by more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles)!
One relative is E. bennettii, also called small bolwarra. It grows only in parts of north-eastern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland. The other is E. barbata, or northern small bolwarra. This one is found in the Wet Tropics of Queensland.
