Streblus banksii < Species index > Syzygium maire
This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 95, # 7, August 2022
August in the hills with Michele Dickson, Chris Horne
Streblus heterophyllus, tūrepo, Small-leaved milk tree
Photo: Jeremy Rolfe
Origin of the botanical names
‘Streblus’ is derived from the Greek word ‘streblos’ meaning ‘twisted’, referring to the zig-zag nature of the branchlets; ‘heterophyllus’ means ‘with differing leaves’, derived from the Greek word ‘heteros’, referring to the diverse leaf shapes. The small-leaved milk tree is one of three New Zealand species of Streblus, and belongs to the family Moraceae. The family also includes the mulberry, fig, breadfruit and jackfruit trees. All plants of the family contain a milky latex. The small-leaved milk tree has previously been named Paratrophis microphylla, then P. heterophylla.
Distribution and habitat
The small-leaved milk tree is endemic to Aotearoa / New Zealand. It grows in lowland forests and forest margins on Te Ika a Māui / North Island and on Te Waipounamu / South Island.
Growth habit
The small-leaved milk tree is a small tree or bushy shrub up to 12 m tall with a trunk up to 60 cm diameter and a whitish-grey, rough bark which has raised lenticels. The branchlets are long, slender, flexuous and interlacing, especially on juvenile plants. Juvenile leaves, 5-20 x 4-10 mm, are fiddle-shaped, usually dividing the leaf into a large lobe and two smaller lateral ones near the base. Adult leaves are mostly unlobed, up to 25 mm long, oval, darker green, with petioles up to 5 mm and the vein network visible underneath. All leaves have crenulate / serrate edges.
Reproduction
The small-leaved milk tree has male and female flowers on separate plants. The pale yellow tiny flowers have no petals and are arranged on drooping spikes: male up to 25 mm long and dense flowered; female widely spaced up to 15 mm long. The fruit are red and up to 5 mm diameter. Flowering is from October to February and fruiting from November to March.
Uses
The milky juice exuded from the bark when damaged was used by colonists in tea in place of milk.
Where can you find the small-leaved milk tree?
Ōtari-Wilton's Bush, Trelissick Park, Huntleigh Park, and in the Akatarawa, Tararua and Remutaka ranges.
In The Hills 2023-07 < Index chronological > In The Hills 2023-09