Cryptocarya laevigata

Cryptocarya laevigata, known as the glossy laurel or red-fruited laurel, is a rainforest plant, which ranges from Malesia and New Guinea to eastern Australia.[2] In Australia it grows in the rainforest understorey on fertile soils, from the Richmond River, New South Wales to Cairns in tropical Queensland, where it is often seen in association with the White Booyong.

Cryptocarya laevigata
Glossy laurel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Magnoliids
Order: Laurales
Family: Lauraceae
Genus: Cryptocarya
Species:
C. laevigata
Binomial name
Cryptocarya laevigata
Synonyms[2]
Synonymy
  • Caryodaphne australis (A.Cunn. ex Hook.) A.Braun
  • Caryodaphne costata Miq.
  • Caryodaphne laevigata (Blume) Nees
  • Caryodaphne laevigata var. angustifolia
  • Cryptocarya australis (A.Cunn. ex Hook.) Benth.
  • Cryptocarya bowiei Druce
  • Cryptocarya cinnamomifolia Merr.
  • Cryptocarya laevigata var. bowiei Kosterm.
  • Cryptocarya merrillii C.T.White
  • Cryptocarya trinervia Elmer
  • Cyanodaphne australis (A.Cunn. ex Hook.) Dragend.
  • Laurus australis A.Cunn. ex Hook.
  • Laurus bowiei Hook.
  • Oreodaphne bowiei Walp.

Description

Cryptocarya laevigata is a shrub or small tree, occasionally reaching 6 metres in height and with a trunk diameter of 8 cm (3.1 in). The bark is brown and smooth apart from vertical raised bumps.

Leaves alternate, elliptical in shape, smooth-edged with a long blunt tip. They are glossy above and below. The leaf features a mid rib and two other lateral veins, giving a three veined appearance. Other leaf veins indistinct.

Small, cream, scented flowers form on panicles from October to December. The fruit is an orange or red drupe, 15 mm (0.59 in) in diameter. The single woody seed is pointed and prominently ribbed, like many other Australian Cryptocarya seeds. The fruit is ripe from to January to May.

Like most Australian Cryptocarya fruit, removal of the slimy red aril is advised to assist seed germination. Roots and shoots usually appear within three to twelve months.

Distribution and habitat

Cryptocarya laevigata ranges across much of Malesia – Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi, and the Philippines – to New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, and eastern Australia.[2]

It grows in tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests.[1]

Uses
Glossy laurel - fruit

The glossy leaves, small size and attractive red fruit make it suitable as an ornamental tree.

References
  1. Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) & IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group. 2018. Cryptocarya laevigata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T135804641A135804643. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T135804641A135804643.en. Accessed 10 April 2023.
  2. Cryptocarya laevigata Blume. Plants of the World Online. Accessed 10 April 2023.
  • Floyd, A.G. (1989). Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia. Inkata Press. p. 179. ISBN 0-909605-57-2.
  • "Cryptocarya laevigata". PlantNET - NSW Flora Online. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
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