Evergreen tree to 10 m tall with slender, pendulous branchlets. Leaves compound, alternate, aromatic. Leaflets 17-35, alternate to near opposite, 0.2-1.0 cm wide, stalkless, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, pointed, entire or with a few small teeth, terminal leaflet often smaller than the others. Flowers in terminal clusters, creamy; spring to summer. Fruits dry, shiny, more or less round, 6-7 mm wide, pale bluish pink to red, highly aromatic, the fragile skin separating from the seed in summer. Syn. S. molle L. var. areira (L.) DC., S. molle of authors other than L.

First introduced to Vic by Scott & Son of Hawthorn, Melbourne, and grown experimentally in the Adelaide Bot. Garden in the late 1860s. Frequently planted as a shade tree in warmer countries and regions, especially the Australian outback. A feature of railway sidings and inland town streets. Naturalised in most states of Australia.

Bolivia, S Brazil, Paraguay, N Argentina.

The fruits have been used as a substitute for pepper and sometimes mixed as an adulterant with Black Pepper, Piper nigrum, but in quantity they are toxic, especially to children, inducing vomiting and diarrhoea. A mildly alcoholic drink is made from the type species in Peru. The tree also produces a gum resin.

ACT: Acton (Liversidge St, near Lennox House).VIC: Burnley (Barkly Gds, mass planting); Castlemaine (8 Farran St,17.5 m tall, circumference 5.9 m, canopy 22 m wide, estimated age 100 years in 1996); Coburg (De Chene Reserve; Lake Reserve); Essendon (Queens Park); Hawthorn (Central Gds); Nathalia (main street); Rochester (main street); Strathmerton (main street); Wycheproof (main street, an avenue). NSW: Wagga Wagga (Collins park,more than 100 years old).

Source: Spencer, R. (2002). Anacardiaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 3. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 2. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.