Plant Duboisia myoporoides (Corkwood)

[Hairyman]

Common Name: Corkwood

Botanical Name: Duboisia myoporoides; Family, Solonaceae

Other Names: Poison Corkwood, Eyeopening Tree, Soft Corkwood, Eye Plant, Elm, Yelow Basswood, Duboisia

Distribution: Australian Native. Cape York Pen. to SE NSW. At rainforest margins and clearings.

Field Notes: Shrub/tree to 24m. Leaves 4 to 12cm long, 1 to 2.5 cm wide.
Bark rough, furrowed and corky.
Flowers, white small in clusters. Fruit purple/black berries 6 to 8mm dia.
Can form hybrids with other Dubosia spp.

Uses: Leaves are a commercial source of useful alkaloides including hyoscine. Used in motion sickness medication and in optometry.
Alkaloid content varies with geographic location.
Pituri is prepared from the related D.hopwoodii.i

Warning avoid contact with or consumption of this plant.

 

[auscraft]

A by product after processing the timbers for the useful oils. Is they use the remains as a very cheap and extremely good quality Mulch

 

[Dusty Miller]

I used to harvest these plants on a friends farm when I was a teenager. Get a leaf in your eye, or rub the sap in your eye, and your pupil will expand to fill the iris. You will then be unable to be in direct sunlight. Its even worse when its dried. Several people have died drinking "bush tea" made from the commercial plant. The related trees contain a large variety of alkaloid poisons, including nicotine and nor-nicotine (LD50 about 50 mg/kg). Very toxic group of plants, often in odd ways.