Scientific Name: Pittosporum bicolor

Common Name: cheesewood

Family Classification (Clade): Eudicots

Family: Pittosporaceae

Form Description: Erect shrub or small tree.

Flowers: Yellow or red flowers flushed with deep crimson or purple hanging on stalks.

Fruit: Woody Capsule – rounded and compressed, at first yellowish-green then woody, 8-10mm broad; the valves woody, opening flat into 2 valves leaving the seeds in a red pulp in the centre. 8-20 seeds per capsule.

Municipality
Break O’DayBurnieCentral CoastCentral HighlandsCircular HeadDerwent ValleyDevonportDorsetFlindersGeorge TownGlamorgan-Spring BayGlenorchyHobartHuon ValleyKentishKing IslandKingboroughLatrobeLauncestonMeander ValleyNorthern MidlandsSorellSouthern MidlandsTasmanWaratah-WynyardWest CoastWest Tamar
Plant Communities
Alpine and Sub-alpine VegetationWet Eucalypt Forest
Habitat Notes

Widespread in wet forests and gullies, sea level to 1500m.

Site Tolerance

Moist, Rocky, Shady

Soil Tolerance

Clay, Fertile, Loam, Well-drained

Frost Tolerance

Moderate

General Notes

Bird attracting. Bee attracting. Good hedge plant. Moderate flammability.

Propagation Calendar

  • Flowering Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Seed Collecting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Sowing Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Cutting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Propagation Method
Seed, Cuttings

Seed Information

Seed Treatment Method

Washing

Seed Treatment Notes

To separate the seed mix with dry sand. Bird-ingested seed or seed treated with pancreatin results in more rapid germination. Contains an inhibitor in the sticky seed coating and should be washed in detergent and water, then rubbed down with coarse sand for several minutes before sowing. May be prone to damping off.

Germination Time

2-3 months

Cutting & Division Information

Can be propagated from cuttings.