Plantsnap – Identify Plants, Trees, Mushrooms With An App

Cocky apple (Planchonia careya)

Description

Planchonia careya is a tree species in the family Lecythidaceae. Common names include cocky apple, cockatoo apple and billygoat plum. It produces an edible fruit which tastes like quince. Indigenous Australians use the bark and leaves in medications. The bark and roots were also used as a fish poison. It should not be confused with Terminalia ferdinandiana, with which it shares some common names.The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia’ records that Indigenous Australians of the Mitchell River area referred to this plant as "Ootcho" while those of the Cloncurry River area referred to it as "Go-onje" and "Gunthamarrah". It also states that the bark was used by Aborigines at Cleveland Bay for stupefying fish in fresh or salt water.

Taxonomic tree

  • Domain: Eukarya

    • Kingdom: Plantae

      • Phylum:

        • Class: Magnoliopsida

          • Order: Ericales

            • Family: Lecythidaceae

              • Genus: Planchonia