''Beyeria viscosa'', commonly known as the pinkwood or sticky wallaby bush (New South Wales), is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

spurge ''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...

family, Euphorbiaceae, that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Description

''Beyeria viscosa'' is a pyramidal

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

growing to tall rarely a small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

to tall. Leaves are spirally arranged,

oblong An oblong is a non-square rectangle. Oblong may also refer to: Places * Oblong, Illinois, a village in the United States * Oblong Township, Crawford County, Illinois, United States * A strip of land on the New York-Connecticut border in the Unit ...

to oblanceolate from 2–5 cm long by 5–15 mm wide tapering towards the petiole with flat or with slightly recurved margins. The upper leaf surface is glabrous and often viscid were by the lower surface is somewhat lighter. Male flowers are cream-yellow and clustered in groups of 2 or 3 with 4 mm long sepals and numerous short stamens. Female flowers lack petals and are solitary with 2–3 mm long sepals, roughly globose ovary and large sessile stigma. Fruit capsules are glabrous or sparsely pubescent with a viscid coating similar to that of the leaves and range from 6–8 mm long with a 2 mm wide persistent stigma. Fruit capsule contains up to 3 smooth, oblong seeds which usually germinate within 5–7 days of planting. Pinkwoods are

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, with separate sexes, some shrubs being

female Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gamet ...

and others being

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

. Plants flower from December to February through the peak of summer. As the common name implies, the timber of B. viscosa bears a pink hue similar to that of Nothofagus cunninghamii but the general small scale of the plant renders it unviable as a timber tree. The plant responds well to being pruned where is can be maintained as a hedge.

Distribution and habitat

''Beyeria viscosa'' is found throughout Australia with the exception of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

but is most abundant in dry areas of central eastern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and eastern

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

where it is a common understory shrub to Eucalypts. Plants prefer poor, well drained soils on semi-shaded sites and are abundant in riparian habitats, gullies and on rocky hills and ridges where they can form dense stands.

References

Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Western Australia Flora of South Australia Flora of the Australian Capital Territory Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of Tasmania Crotonoideae Dioecious plants {{Euphorbiaceae-stub