Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Pittosporum crassifolium

Family

Pittosporaceae

Flowering season

February to April

English distribution

Naturalised on the Isles of Scilly and occasionally found

elsewhere in the UK.

See the BSBI distribution map for Karo

Habitat

It is a neophyte which was first grown in the UK in the

1870s.

On the Isles of Scillies it has been and still is widely planted

as a screening hedgerow bush and windfbreak.

It has been naturalised on the islands since the early

1950s and grows on waste ground, cliffs and rocky places.

Description

Karo is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing up to 5m.

The flowers are in terminal clusters. They are 15mm across

and have 5 petalsand 5 yellow stamens.

The style is linear and the stigma capitate.

The fruit is a 3 part capsule.

The seeds are black and sticky and spread by birds.

The leaves are up to 8cm, glossy on the upper surface,

pale on the lower surface and with recurved margins.