''Terminalia arostrata'', commonly known as crocodile tree or nutwood, is a tree of the family ''

Combretaceae The Combretaceae, often called the white mangrove family, are a family of flowering plants in the order Myrtales. The family includes about 530 species of trees, shrubs, and lianas in ca 10 genera. The family includes the leadwood tree, ''Combre ...

'' native to northern parts of Australia. The tree typically grows to a height of in height and

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

to semi-deciduous. It blooms between July and November producing white, orange and red flowers. The tree has a rounded crown and pendulous branches and produces edible seeds. The leaves are long and wide and has beaked fruit that persists year round. The species was first described by

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

s Alfred James Ewart and O.B.Davies in 1917 in ''The Flora of the Northern Territory''. It is found on flat to slightly undulating places in swampy areas and on

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

ic plains in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

region of Western Australia, 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 ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

growing in alluvium and heavy soils.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17583097 Trees of Australia Flora of Western Australia Flora of Queensland Flora of the Northern Territory Plants described in 1917 arostrata