Volkameria inermis
Volkameria inermis, commonly known as Indian privet, seaside Clerodendrum and scrambling Clerodendrum, among other names, is a species of flowering plant in the mint and sage family Lamiaceae, found in mangrove shores and coastal forests of Australia, Asia, Malesia and the Pacific islands. It is a vine or shrub, and was first described in 1788. In Australia it is treated as Clerodendrum inermis. It is also naturalised in Tunisia, north of Africa.
Botany
This is a shrub 1 to 4 metres tall, but it can grow into a tree with a height up to 10 m. It has woody, smooth stems. Its leaves are arranged alternately; each blade is elliptical, with a length of 1.5 to 4 centimetres with a smooth surface and dark green on its underside.The flower is trumpet-shaped with white petals 1.5 to 4 cm long and long reddish or purple stamens. It grows in clusters, each made of 3 to 7 petals joined at the base. Its fruit is round or egg-shaped with a length of 1 cm, it turns from green to black when ripe. When the fruit is dried up, it breaks into 4 lobes with thick corky walls. The tree flowers and bears fruit around the same time from July to December, the fruit ripen in March.