Scleropyrum pentandrum - Hard Pear Tree

Hard Pear is a parasitic tree with spiny trunk and branches. Leaves are simple, alternate, characteristically yellow-green. Flowers are bisexual in catkin-like fascicles. Fruit is a drupe. It is a small evergreen tree up to 20 m high, branches ascending or horizontally to the main trunk. Bole is straight with fascicle of sharp spines on trunk or branches. Bark is deeply fissured while juvenile stem is channelled, light brown, inner bark light brown-cream. Twigs are slightly flattened at leaf insertion and densely softly hairy when young, becoming round and hairless when mature. Young twigs have spines. Leaves are simple alternate and spiral, 10-20 x 2.5-9 cm, narrowly to broadly elliptic or ovate, tip acute, shortly acuminate, base narrowed, margin entire, blade leathery, upper surface shining, hairless. Flowers are small, grouped in fascicle of catkins, cauliflorous, unisexual, male flower smelling unpleasant, shortly pedicelled while female flower stalkless. Fruit is a drupe with pear shape or ovoid, 1.8-3.5 by 1.3-2.6 cm, stalked, green turning yellow when ripen.