Described variously as the butter bush, native apricot, cattle bush, native willow or cumby cumby, the weeping pittosporum is an attractive large bush to tree. It was formerly know as the Pittosporum phylliraeoides according to Kutsche and Lay (2003).

The weeping pittosporum is found normally along dry creek beds at Fowlers Gap, and is not terribly common, but it IS terribly pretty! It's fruit is NOT edible, being extremely bitter.

It is a shrub to slender tree which may grow to 10 m tall.

Bark: grey-white or mottled rough, distinctively white on maturity.
Leaves: alternate, 40-120 x 4-12 mm, tapering to both ends, apex pointed and often hooked. Foliage is glabrous and pendulous (drooping).
Flowers: occur in small axillary clusters, tubular, with 5 spreading or reflexed lobes 7-12 mm long, cream or pale yellow, fragrant.
Fruit: a bright orange ovoid capsule 10-22 mm long, splitting into two revealing 4-14 seeds in sticky pulp.
Sources: Frank Kutsche and Brendan Lay (2003). Field guide to the plants of outback South Australia. Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation, South Australia, ISBN 0 7590 1052 8.
Phillip Moore (2005). A guide to plants of inland Australia. Reed New Holland, ISBN 1 876334 86 X.
Photos: Ian Roach

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