Myoporum platycarpum, known by several common names including sugarwood, false sandalwood and ngural is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is rounded with bright green foliage as a young shrub and roughly fissured, dark grey bark when mature. Sugarwood is endemic to the southern half of continental Australia.
Sugarwood is a rounded shrub or small tree growing to a height of 10sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 with foliage and branches that are glabrous but often covered with small raised, wart-like tubercles. The bark on mature specimens is rough, dark grey, flaky bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are usually NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide, linear to elliptic in shape and usually have small teeth or serrations in the outer half. The leaves are often curved or have a hook on the end and both surfaces are deep green in colour.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The flowers are borne in groups of about 5 to 8 (sometimes more or fewer) on a stalk NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long. The flowers have five triangular sepals and five petals, joined at their bases to form a tube. The petals are white or very pale pink to purple sometimes spotted orange or yellow. The tube is about NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and the lobes are spreading, blunt and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long. The inside of the tube and part of the lobes are hairy. There are 4 stamens which extend beyond the petals. The main flowering season is from August to November and the fruits that follow are green and fleshy at first but dry when mature.[3] [4] [5]
Myoporum platycarpum was first formally described by botanist Robert Brown in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae in 1810.[6]
There are two subspecies:
The specific epithet platycarpum is derived from the ancient Greek platys (πλατύς), broad, flat; karpos (καρπός), fruit.[9] The epithet perbellum is from the "Latin, perbellum very beautiful".
Both subspecies of M. platycarpum occur in inland areas of New South Wales, north-western Victoria and the southern half of South Australia. Only subspecies platycarpum occurs in south-eastern Western Australia and in the far south east of Queensland. It often grows in mallee or Belah woodland.
Sugarwood is a hardy and attractive plant useful for shade, shelter or as a screening plant in drier climates.[10] [11]
Sugarwood is hard and dense, yellow and streaked brown with small black features. It smells of sugar when it is worked.[12]