Exocarpos

Exocarpos is a genus of flowering shrubs and small trees in the sandalwood family, Santalaceae. They are found throughout Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands.

They are semi-parasitic, requiring the roots of a host tree, a trait they share with many other members of the Santalaceae.

In Australia, some species are also known as ballarts or cherries.

The genus Exocarpos was first described by Jacques Labillardière on 7 May 1792:

I discovered an evergreen tree, which has its nut situated, like that of the acajou, upon a fleshy receptacle much larger than itself. I therefore named this new genus exocarpos. . . . The principal characters of this plant have led me to rank it among the terebinthinaceous tribe, next to the anacardium. I have given it the name of exocarpos cupressiformis.

Convention dictates that the taxon is often expressed as Exocarpos Labill. 1798.

The name exocarpos derives from the Greek exo (outside) and caryon (nut).

Within Australia, an identification key is available for New South Wales species, and for Victorian species.