Yellow corkwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yellow corkwood |
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Melicope
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bonwickii
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The Yellow Corkwood (scientific name: Melicope bonwickii) is a type of tree. It is also called the yellow evodia. This tree belongs to the Rutaceae family, which also includes citrus fruits.
You can find the Yellow Corkwood growing naturally in places like Java, the Philippines, New Guinea, and northeastern Australia. It has special leaves made of three leaflets. The tree also grows small pink flowers that appear in clusters near the leaves.
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About the Yellow Corkwood Tree
The Yellow Corkwood tree can grow very tall, sometimes reaching up to 40 meters (about 130 feet) high. Its leaves are quite unique. Each leaf is made up of three smaller leaflets. These leaflets are attached to a stalk called a petiole, which can be 30 to 95 millimeters long.
Leaves and Flowers
The end leaflet of the Yellow Corkwood's leaves looks like an egg, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. These leaflets are directly attached to the petiole without their own small stalks. They can be quite large, from 100 to 300 millimeters long and 50 to 150 millimeters wide.
The flowers of the Yellow Corkwood are special because they have both male and female parts. They grow in clusters called panicles, which are 35 to 100 millimeters long. These clusters appear where the leaves meet the stem.
Flower Parts and Fruit
The flowers have small, round sepals, which are like tiny leaves that protect the bud. These sepals are about 1.5 to 2 millimeters long and are joined at their base. The petals are usually pink, but sometimes they can be white. They are about 4.5 millimeters long and feel a bit hairy. Each petal also has a small ridge on its back.
Inside the flower, there are four stamens, which are the parts that produce pollen. The Yellow Corkwood usually flowers between March and June. After flowering, it produces fruit. The fruit is made up of up to four small pods called follicles, each about 4 to 6 millimeters long.
How the Tree Got Its Name
The Yellow Corkwood has an interesting history regarding its scientific name. It was first officially described in 1865 by a scientist named Ferdinand von Mueller. He gave it the name Euodia bonwickii. He wrote about it in a scientific book called Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae. The specimens he studied were collected by John Dallachy.
Later, in 1994, another scientist named Thomas Gordon Hartley changed its name to Melicope bonwickii. This new name was published in a journal called Sandakania. The second part of its scientific name, bonwickii, was chosen to honor a person named James Bonwick.
Where the Yellow Corkwood Lives
The Yellow Corkwood tree grows naturally in several parts of the world. You can find it in Java and the Philippines. It also grows further south in New Guinea and in the northeastern part of Australia.
This tree prefers to live in rainforests. It can grow from sea level all the way up to an altitude of 900 meters (about 2,950 feet). In Australia, it is found in areas from the Atherton Tableland down to near Proserpina in northern Queensland.
Traditional Uses
People in the Tanimbar Islands have traditionally used parts of the Yellow Corkwood tree. They say it can be used to help treat a sickness called dysentery.
