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Carrotwood Facts

Carrotwood Facts
Carrotwood is an evergreen tree that belongs to the soapberry family. It grows natively in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Carrotwood can be found in the coastal areas, mangroves, marshes, on the rocky beaches, sand dunes and river banks. It tolerates increased content of salt in the soil, as well as soil of poor quality. Carrotwood thrives equally well in the sunny areas and in the partial shade. People cultivate carrotwood in ornamental purposes (as a landscape or street plant). Despite its beautiful morphology, carrotwood is classified as noxious weed in most countries outside its native range because it produces huge quantities of seed, grows very fast, easily occupies new areas and reduces natural diversity.
Interesting Carrotwood Facts:
Carrotwood has slender, single trunk that can reach 35 feet in height. It has roundish crown composed of numerous upright branches.
Carrotwood has smooth, grey-colored outer bark, while its inner bark is orange-colored. Intense color of the inner bark is responsible for the common name of this plant - "carrotwood".
Carrotwood has large, compound leaves that consist of 4 to 12 oblong, leathery leaflets with wavy margins and rounded tips. Leaves are green colored and alternately arranged on the stem.
Carrotwood produces small, greenish-white flowers arranged in dense clusters. It belongs to the group of monoecious plants, which means that it produces individual male and female flowers on the same tree. Flowers grow from the axils of leaves and they are not fragrant.
Carrotwood blooms from May to July in Australia and during the winter in Florida. Flowers attract bees which are main pollinators of this plant.
Fruit of carrotwood is tri-lobed woody capsule filled with three shiny black seed with reddish-orange fleshy crust on the surface.
Ripe fruit of carrotwood is yellow-orange colored. It changes color to brown, starts to dry and splits in three parts to expose its seed when it becomes fully mature.
Colorful seed of carrotwood attracts birds and small mammals which play important role in dispersal of seed in the wild.
Seed of carrotwood is not used in human diet.
Carrotwood can produce significant damage in the newly conquered areas. It easily outcompetes native species of plants, prevents normal nesting of birds and reduces number of nursery areas of crabs and other invertebrates.
People use pesticides and mechanical methods to eradicate carrotwood from the occupied areas.
Despite its highly invasive potential, carrotwood is still cultivated in ornamental purposes in Florida and California.
Carrotwood is valuable source of timber that is used for building in the coastal parts of Australia and for the manufacture of lathe, spindles and bowls.
Carrotwood does not possess any medicinal value.
Carrotwood is perennial plant with an average lifespan of 25 to 50 years.


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