''Cryptocarya exfoliata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ). They are dicotyledons, and occur ma ...

family and is native to Cape York Peninsula the Northern Territory and New Guinea. Its leaves are lance-shaped, the flowers creamy-green and slightly perfumed, and the fruit is a spherical to elliptic black

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'') ...

Description

''Cryptocarya exfoliata'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of up to , its stems sometimes buttressed and its young growth softly hairy. Its leaves are lance-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long. The flowers are creamy-green and slightly perfumed, usually arranged in a

panicle 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 of ...

more or less the same length as the leaves, the perianth tube long, wide and hairy. The tepals are long and wide, the outer

anthers The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

long and wide, the inner anthers long and wide. Flowering occurs from January to March, and the fruit is a black, spherical to elliptic drupe long and wide.

Taxonomy

''Cryptocarya exfoliata'' was first formally described in 1942 by

Caroline Kathryn Allen Caroline Kathryn Allen (April 7, 1904 - April 6, 1975) was an American botanist, botanical illustrator and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist noted for studying trees in the lauraceae, laurel family. She was a staff member at both the Arnold Arboret ...

in the ''

Journal of the Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in N ...

'' from specimens collected by

Leonard John Brass Leonard John Brass (17 May 1900 – 29 August 1971) was an Australian and American botany, botanist, plant collecting, botanical collector and explorer. Early life Brass was born at Toowoomba, Queensland. He was trained at the Queensland Herbar ...

near the Middle Fly River in New Guinea.

Distribution and habitat

This species of ''Cryptocarya'' grows in rainforest in New Guinea,

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...

, the Torres Strait Islands and from Cape York Peninsula to

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

in Queensland, at altitudes from sea level to .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15607786 Laurales of Australia exfoliata Plants described in 1942 Flora of Queensland Flora of New Guinea Flora of the Northern Territory