''Ochrosia elliptica'', known as elliptic yellowwood, bloodhorn or kopsia is a flowering tree native to north-eastern

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 ...

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...

and

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

. The tree bears an inedible red colored fruit with a white sticky flesh. It has been introduced to Florida where it is considered invasive and also to the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. Ochrosia elliptica is an evergreen shrub or small tree usually growing 4 - 6 metres tall but sometimes reaching 12 metres. It has leathery dark green elliptic to obovate leaves up to 8-20cm long and 4-8cm wide. The leaves occur in whorls of 3 or 4. The flowers occur in axilliary clusters and are small, yellow/white and fragrant. They are followed by pairs of striking red fruit 5-6 cm long by 2-3 cm in diameter, which resemble elongated tomatoes or a pair of red horns. The fruits are poisonous, and plants bleed white sap copiously when wounded.

Uses

The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

and source of beads. It is cultivated for its medicinal use in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It is widely distributed as an ornamental, being valued for its startling bright red

fruits In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particula ...

and dense clusters of

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

flowers that are produced throughout the year on an open spreading leafy canopy. Fruit and sap are highly poisonous. =Other names= ''Local names''

: Gu cheng mei gui shu.

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Berrywood tree, Bloodhorn, Elliptic yellowwood,

Mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

ochrosia, Wedge apple.

References

elliptica Flora of Lord Howe Island Trees of New Caledonia Flora of Queensland {{Apocynaceae-stub