Newhaven FloraButterfly Bush (Petalostylis cassioides) Desert Poplar (Codonocarpus cotinifolius) Fork-leaved Corkwood (Hakea divaricata) Newcastelia spodiotricha Pebble Bush (Stylobasium spathulatum) Senna pleurocarpa Tar Bush (Eremophila glabra)

The Desert Poplar (Codonocarpus cotinifolius), also known as the Native Poplar in New South Wales and Western Australia, is a tall shrub or tree in the family Gyrostemonaceae and can be found in all mainland states of Australia, including Victoria, where it is commonly known as the Bell Fruit Tree.

Desert Poplar (Codonocarpus cotinifolius), Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary NT © Dorothy Latimer
Desert Poplar (Codonocarpus cotinifolius), Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary NT © Dorothy Latimer

The Desert Poplar can be a tall, fast-growing and short-lived tree, found growing in arid regions, such as mulga flats, rocky hillsides and will also grow in sand. The tree is known to bend under the weight of the prolific amount of seeds that sometimes sets.

Desert Poplar (Codonocarpus cotinifolius), Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary NT © Dorothy Latimer
Desert Poplar (Codonocarpus cotinifolius), Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary NT © Dorothy Latimer
Desert Poplar (Codonocarpus cotinifolius), Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary NT © Dorothy Latimer
Desert Poplar (Codonocarpus cotinifolius), Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary NT © Dorothy Latimer

The roots of the Desert Poplar are also known as a great place to find witchetty grubs.

Desert Poplar (Codonocarpus cotinifolius), Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary NT © Dorothy Latimer
Desert Poplar (Codonocarpus cotinifolius), Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary NT © Dorothy Latimer

  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Plantae
  • Phylum: Charophyta
  • Class: Equisetopsida
  • Subclass: Magnoliidae
  • Superorder: Rosanae
  • Order: Brassicales
  • Family: Gyrostemonaceae
  • Genus: Codonocarpus
  • Species: Codonocarpus cotinifolius

Footnote & References

  1. Many thanks for ID to members of Alice Springs Field Naturalists Club, Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/alicefieldnats/

Newhaven FloraButterfly Bush (Petalostylis cassioides) Desert Poplar (Codonocarpus cotinifolius) Fork-leaved Corkwood (Hakea divaricata) Newcastelia spodiotricha Pebble Bush (Stylobasium spathulatum) Senna pleurocarpa Tar Bush (Eremophila glabra)

Newhaven Wildlife SanctuaryNewhaven Fauna Newhaven Flora

Northern TerritoryCentral Australia Aileron Alice Springs Binns Track Chambers Pillar Historical Reserve Ernest Giles Road Finke Gorge National Park Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve Hermannsburg Historic Precinct Ilparpa Claypans Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve MacDonnell Ranges Mount Connor Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary Owen Springs Reserve Red Centre Way Drive Standley Chasm Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Watarrka National Park & Kings Canyon Wurre / Rainbow Valley