''Cryptocarya bidwillii'', the yellow laurel, is a small to medium-sized tree in the

laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

family. Occurring in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s from Nymboida in the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

in tropical

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. Often found in the dryer ridges in dry rainforest or in viney scrubs.

Naming

The type specimen was collected by

John Carne Bidwill John Carne Bidwill (5 February 1815 – 16 March 1853) was an English botanist who documented plant life in New Zealand and Australia. He is attributed with the discovery of several Australian plant species. Life in England Bidwill ...

Wide Bay, Queensland Wide Bay is a bay of the Coral Sea off the coast of the localities of Rainbow Beach and Cooloola, both in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. History Wide Bay was charted and named by Lieutenant James Cook James Cook (7 November ...

. ''Cryptocarya'' is literally "concealed nut". Alluding to the fleshy

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...

concealing the hard seed within. The Swiss botanist

Carl Meissner Carl Daniel Friedrich Meissner (1 November 1800 – 2 May 1874) was a Swiss botanist. Biography Born in Bern, Switzerland on 1 November 1800, he was christened Meisner but later changed the spelling of his name to Meissner. For most of his 40 ...

is the describing scientist.

Description

The yellow laurel reaches a height of 20 metres and a trunk diameter of 50 cm. Usually seen much smaller, with a low spreading crown on a short bole. Often seen with

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeated ...

shoots from the base.

Trunk, bark and leaves

The trunk is straight and round in cross section, though somewhat flanged or buttressed in larger specimens. The bark is grey or brown and usually fairly smooth. Some reddish

lenticel A lenticel is a porous tissue consisting of cells with large intercellular spaces in the periderm of the secondarily thickened organs and the bark of woody stems and roots of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It functions as a pore, providing a ...

s or horizontal cracks may be seen. Small branches are smooth with green tips, with raised dots. Leaves are alternate, elliptic, 6 to 12 cm long, with a blunt tip. Both leaf sides green and glossy. Leaf margins wavy, leaf stalks 5 to 10 mm long. Leaf veins visible on both surfaces, more evident above the leaf. Three to ten lateral veins, angled at 45 degrees to the mid-vein. Net veins easily seen. Underneath the leaf, the mid-vein is raised and slightly flattened.

Flowers, fruit and germination

White or cream flowers in

panicles A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are o ...

. Individual flowers about 3 mm long, bell shaped and hairy. Flowering occurs between November to January. The fruit is a black globular

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

, usually ribbed and pointed. 12 mm in diameter. The seed is around 8 mm in diameter. Fruit ripe from November to February. Eaten by the

rose-crowned fruit-dove The rose-crowned fruit dove (''Ptilinopus regina''), also known as pink-capped fruit dove or Swainson's fruit dove, is a medium-sized, up to 22 cm long, green fruit dove with a grey head and breast, an orange belly, whitish throat, yellow-or ...

topknot pigeon The topknot pigeon (''Lopholaimus antarcticus'') is a pigeon native to eastern Australia. Taxonomy English naturalist George Shaw described the topknot pigeon as ''Columba antarctica'' in 1793. The topknot pigeon is sister taxon to a lineage th ...

and

wompoo fruit dove The wompoo fruit dove (''Ptilinopus magnificus''), also known as wompoo pigeon, is one of the larger fruit doves native to New Guinea and eastern Australia. Taxonomy and systematics Subspecies There are generally 7-8 recognised subspecies, ...

. Like most Australian ''

Cryptocarya ''Cryptocarya'' is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes more than 350 species, distributed through the Neotropical, Afrotropical, Indomalayan, and Australasian realms. Overview The genus inc ...

'' fruit, removal of the fleshy

aril An aril (pronounced ), also called an arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode or false aril is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the see ...

is advised to assist seed germination. Seeds germinate well.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * https://archive.today/20121215182221/http://www.brisrain.webcentral.com.au/01_cms/details_pop.asp?ID=98 * {{Taxonbar, from=Q5190837 Laurales of Australia Trees of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland bidwillii