Common name: Sarsaparilla

Sarsaparilla is an ornamental and honey tree originating in Australia, where it occurs in humid subtropical and tropical forests on the east coast of the continent. Its natural range extends from northern New South Wales to north Queensland, as far north as Thursday Island.

It is a fast-growing tree, and in the warmest and wettest parts of its range may attain heights of up to 40 m (130 ft), with a trunk diameter of 60 cm (2 ft), though elsewhere it is more typically half to a third that size.

The trunk is without buttresses, straight, slender, clear of branches for more than half the tree height and supports a densely leafy crown. On open sites, the branches are wide-spreading and with a layered appearance that adds to the tree's ornamental interest. When bruised or broken, the branches give-off an odour reminding one of liniment and sarsaparilla. The bark is grey and smooth on young trees, with age becoming deeply fissured.

The leaves are oval with a pointed tip, 7 to 15 cm (3 to 6 in) long, dark glossy green on top, underneath silvery-white and finely hairy. They remain on the tree in all seasons, though some leaf-fall may occur in areas with a cool winter or pronounced dry season.

The flowers are small, about 0.5 cm (0.2 in) in diameter, five-petaled, creamy-white and fragrant. They are tightly packed in large clusters arising at the sides and ends of the branches and come into bloom in spring.

The fertilised flowers develop into small bowl-shaped fruit with thin green pulp, becoming dull black and dry when mature and with three seed enclosed.

Use

The tree's shapely form, shade-giving as well as eye-catching foliage, and sweetly fragrant flowers, with their ability to attract nectar-feeding birds and insects, makes it a good candidate for planting as an amenity tree in urban parks, landscapes and gardens.

The flowers produce abundant nectar as well as pollen that helps sustain honeybees and their colonies. It is considered a major honey tree in its native Australia, and in its pure, unadulterated form is light-amber in colour with a fair to good flavour and medium body.

The wood is light- to medium-weight, in the 400 to 600 kgs per cubic meter (25 to 37 lbs per cubic ft) range, with moderate to low natural resistance rot, decay and wood -boring insects. This puts it in the non-durable hardwood class, which limits its use in outdoor and in-ground construction.

The sapwood is creamy-white and the heartwood pinkish-red. Suitable logs are sawn in lumber used mainly for furniture and cabinets, light traffic flooring, as well as packing boxes.

General interest

The name Sarsaparilla comes from the strong sarsaparilla or liniment odour given off when the branches are bruised or broken.

Climate

Grows naturally in humid subtropical and tropical lowland to mid-elevation climates, generally areas with annual lows of 14 to 24°C, annual highs of 25 to 32°C, annual rainfall of 1200 to 4000 mm and a dry season of 5 months or less.

Growing

New plants can be raised from seed or cuttings. The seed shell is hard and benefits from pre-treatment in boiling water or mechanical cracking to facilitate germination.

Sarsaparilla performs best on free- to slow-draining clay-loam, loam and sandy loam soils of a moderately acid to neutral nature, general with a pH of 5.0 to 7.5,m and on sites with full to partial sun exposure. It has poor tolerance to prolonged or pronounced drought conditions.

Problem features

There does not appear to be any record of it anywhere as a weed or invasive species or of it naturalising outside of its natural range.

Books

• Blake, S. T. & Roff, C. 1987, The honey flora of Queensland, 3rd ed., Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QLD DPI), Brisbane

• Bristow, M. & Bragg, A. & Annandale. M. 2005, Growing rainforest timber trees: a farm forestry manual for north Queensland, Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), Barton, A.C.T, Australia

• Doran, J. C & Turnbull, J. W. 1997, Australian trees and shrubs : species for land rehabilitation and farm planting in the tropics, 2nd ed, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

• Floyd, A. G. 1979, N.S.W. rainforest trees, 2nd. ed., Forestry Commission of NSW, Sydney, Australia

• Lake, M. 2015, Australian rainforest woods : characteristics, uses and identification, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria

• Leech, M. 2013, Bee Friendly: A planting guide for European honeybees and Australian native pollinators, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), Canberra, Australian Capital Territory