On Mon, 30 Apr 2007 12:12:13 -0400, "mel turner"
wrote:

"Richard Wright" wrote inmessage
.. .
This small tree grows along roadsides close to the bank of the Colo
river west of Sydney. This is a warm temperate zone, with good
rainfall.

http://www.box.net/shared/static/mm49y5789h.jpg

Nice photos.

It has fruits containing nuts.

Or, possibly just large seeds in a fibrous fleshy fruit. Technically,
a "nut" is a type of large dry fruit with a hard fruit wall protecting
the seed.

The internal structure of the fruit looks something like a mangosteen,
but the thin pulp has an astringent flavour.

As no doubt you know, you really shouldn't be tasting unknown
plants. Some can hurt you.

Inside the the thin shell is a pure white nut. It tastes pleasantly
mealy, but not delicious. I spat it out in case it is poisonous.

Again, that's risky. I was thinking that the tree vaguely resembles
_Aleurites_ spp. [Euphorbiaceae], which reportedly can have seeds
poisonous enough that even one could kill a person.[I don't actually
think it's an Aleurites, however.]

http://images.google.com/images?q=aleurites&gbv=1

I don't think it is a native Australian species. There are a lot of
garden escapes in this area.

What species is it?

Sorry, but I'm not at all sure what it might be. Your photos are
clear, and if someone is familiar with the plant he should have
no problem identifying it for you.

Malvaceae, s.l. perhaps? Palmately veined, alternate leaves,
apparently a terminal flower/fruit, ovary superior and slightly
stipitate-based...

http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/mil...list/milo.html
for example [clearly not the same plant but a bit reminiscent]

cheers

Mel

Thanks for that lead. In fact Thespesia populnea it is.

http://www.nybg.org/bsci/belize/Thespesia_populnea.jpg

and many other images,

Nuts they are, in the sense that I had to use a nutcracker to crack
the shell, thin though it is.

Cornucopia II cites several sources, at least one of which must claim
that the nuts were candied.

Tasting the unknown? I have survived for decades by a touch on the
tongue. If tongue still there, nibble on a minute quantity. Spit. Wash
out mouth with water. Spit again.

Cheers

Richard