Eden

Penang Botanic Gardens Plant Collection

Kopsia arborea Blume (APOCYNACEAE)

Posted at — Nov 13, 2019
Shrub Vinca, Penang Sloe

Description

Evergreen tree to 14 m tall, to 30 cm diameter. Leaves opposite, dying red. Flowers clustered in terminal inflorescence, white, 2-4 cm long. Fruits only one carpel developing into oblique ellipsoid or subglobose drupe, ripening blue-black.

Ecology

Lowland evergreen to deciduous forests.

Distribution

Widely distributed to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, S China, SE Asia and Australia (Queensland).

Uses

Cultivated as a street tree, particularly in Penang. A large mature is growing in Penang Botanic Gardens, the source of the street trees found in Penang. Otherwise very rare and considered Critically Endangered in Malaysia.