Plant ID: Peppercorn Tree (Schinus areira)

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• published: 24 Jan 2014
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Genus: Schinus Species: areira Family: ANACARDIACEAE Common name: Peppercorn Tree Plant type: Evergreen Origin: Peru Habit/form: A medium sized tree, 15m range, that can age and behave quite large. The Peppercorn tree is a wonderful weeping tree with a distinctive aroma. It can have meters length of weeping branches as well as larger stems and branching spreading upright. Standing underneath the crown branches and leaves gently rain around you and the tree and touch the ground. The canopy can be full but the weeping branch-strips provide lots of space and light allowing you to see most locations throughout the tree. Younger Peppercorn trees can have a narrow dome and habit calmer than when matured. Mature specimens can emphasize twisting and reaching branches, definitely can mature gnarly. Can find vivid branch stretches/reach, and some twisting. This isn't necessarily a knotted tree but it certain can become gnarly/scrappy. Can develop a lot of large branches from the trunk or it can work with just a few main ones. The trunk is gnarly and flaky, ranging in light to medium brown bark colour. The gnarly flake is persistent throughout, can be in short or long strips, and can be layered so that fissures, ridges, and texture are created from the overlapping and flaking. This is the kind of tree that can have no problem with large hollows in the trunk; it still grows fine. A durable, adaptable tree, can handle some frost, can handle drought, and can have vigorous roots. Because of this type of habit Peppercorn trees can look scrappy. Strong winds thrash the weeping branches too. Leaves: Alternate Compound leaf about 200mm long, mostly paripinnate, so each leaf has a bunch of leaflets, usually closer to 20 or more leaflets, opposite or close to it, narrow lanceolate, sometimes a notable shallow serrated margin, ranging from light-mid-and dark green colour. The leaflets can look neat or sometimes "beat-up" or thrashed. Leaves have a peppercorn-like scent or can also be described as a somewhat Eucalypt scent. The scent is distinctive of this tree. Often you can smell it just by being close to the tree, but crushing the leaves seems to release the most scent. Flowers: The flowers are small, white, and appear in terminal clusters. Because of the weeping branch habit you can see clusters of tiny flowers grouped throughout the foliage. Generally flowers late spring and early summer. Fruit: A small, round, drupe fruit, in weeping clusters, unripe green aging to red and then shrinking and withering/shriveling away. The fruit is more dry than fleshy, although it is softer inside. The fruit is also aromatic with basically the same scent as the foliage.