Dodonaea wilcoxiana

Description

Dodonaea is a genus of about 70 species of flowering plants, often known as hop-bushes, in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia and Australasia. By far the highest species diversity is in Australia. The genus is named after Rembert Dodoens, also known as Rembertus Dodonaeus. They are shrubs and small trees growing to 1–5 metres (3.3–16.4 ft) tall. The leaves are alternate, simple or pinnate. The flowers are produced in short racemes. The fruit is a capsule, often with two or three wings. Dodonaea species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Aenetus eximia and Aenetus ligniveren. D. viscosa is a shrub growing to 1-3 m (3.3-9.8 ft) tall, rarely a small tree to 9 m (30 ft) tall. The leaves are variable in shape: generally obovate but some of them are lanceolate, often sessile, 4-7.5 cm (1.6-3.0 in) long and 1-1.5 cm (0.39-0.59 in) broad, alternate in arrangement, and secrete a resinous substance. Many specimens have a pointed or rounded apex. Leaf base is extended. Leaf texture is leathery, tough, but also pliable. Midribs are medium becoming less visible close to the apex. Secondary veins are thin, generally indistinct; Veins: often 6 to 10 pairs, indifferently opposite, subopposite, and alternate, camptodrome.