Evodia

Evodia provides the double whammy – both the wood and the flowers.

An evodia is an evergreen flowering tree that can grow to a medium size, and is native to Australia and New Guinea.
‘Evodia’ is also known as ‘pink flowered doughwood’, ‘eudia’, ‘doughwood’ and ‘corkwood’.
The scientific name of evodias is Melicope elleryana and it is from the family Rutaceae, the family of citrus.
Evodias reach heights of around five to six metres (16 to 20 feet) when cultivated and up to 25 metres (82 feet) in the wild.
The small tubular flowers of evodias grow in clusters along the branches of the tree, and are of a pink colour with long stamens.

Evodias bloom throughout the warmer months of December to March, and the flowers are very attractive to birds, especially lorikeets, as well as butterflies, for the nectar they produce.
Evodias are found in forest habitats particularly in rainforest areas, and they are often home to Ulysses butterfly larvae.
The trunk of evodias tends to have a layer of cork-like bark; and the trees can be used as a source of timber, and they are often grown for ornamental purposes.
Australian-German Ferdinand von Mueller, a botanist, was the first to scientifically classify evodias and initially named the tree Euodia elleryana in 1865.
After flowering, small fruits of an ovoid shape develop, that change from green to a black, brown or grey colour when ripe, that then split open to each release a small, black shiny seed, that birds also like to feed on.

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