Glochidion ferdinandi, which is also known as the ‘cheese tree’ is an Australian tree that you don’t really see in cultivation, although I do like this tree. The cheese tree has the potential to reach 15 metres tall, but frequently 4-8 metres. In its native rainforest margins, it is a pioneer plant (a plant that colonises disturbed areas)-it can be abundant in moist and sheltered gullies and woodland in coastal areas. The natural range of the cheese tree is from the Illawarra region south of Sydney north to Queensland and west to the Kimberley’s in Western Australia. The meaning of Glochidion comes from the Greek word ‘glochis’ that means ‘projecting point’ in reference to the stiffly pointing style on the flower. Ferdinandi has been used to honour Ferdinand von Mueller.

The leaves of the cheese tree are glabrous (hairless) and elliptic in shape. They reach a size of 5-10 cm x 2-4cm wide, with an acuminate apex. Old leaves become discoloured to purple-brown, while younger leaves are dark green and glossy on the top while paler and yellowish underneath.

The cheese tree is monoecious, which means that the seperate male and female flowers exist on the same tree. All flowers appear in the leaf axils-the male flowers appear in clusters of three while the female flowers are solitary. Flowers are yellow-green in colour. The fruit of the cheese tree follow. The fruit looks like a cheese wheel, which is where the common name comes from. Each individual fruit is up to 20 mm across and green which then matures to a deep red colour. The segments open to expose a pair of flat seeds in each locule (an individual cavity within the ovary). The seeds are covered by a red aril (a seed covering, often coloured and hairy/fleshy), which are ripe between November and February.