Aceratium is probably one of the most striking genus of plants of the Australian tropics. I don’t have much to back myself up other than my own biases, but seeing Aceratium always makes me happy! Maybe it is the name, and perhaps also the fact that it seems to differ so much from Elaeocarpus, with which it is a relative.
Unlike Elaeocarpus, Aceratium looks more like a strange Syzygium, with opposite leaves.
But the leaf margins of Aceratium have teeth, in the case of A. megalospermum, these teeth are quite fine. In this species also, the undersides of the leaves have a somewhat glaucous appearance.
The longish, down-hanging flowers however, bear the tell-tale GIST of many Elaeocarps.
I wouldn’t bother woth common names, but for this species, the common name of Creek Aceratium is probably fairly descriptive of it’s habitat preference for creeksides.
The fruits are bright red and attractive and on the whole this is an elegant looking small tree. Certainly one I’d love to have in a rain forest garden!
Leaf Whispering in the Tropics 