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''Cryptocarya'' is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel 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 ...
. The genus includes more than 350 species, distributed through the Neotropical,
Afrotropical The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...
, Indomalayan, and Australasian realms.


Overview

The genus includes species of evergreen trees, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical regions of South America, India, China, Java, New Guinea, Africa, Madagascar, and Mauritius, with seven species in Southern Africa. Common in the canopy, they grow up to 60 m, or as subcanopy trees in the succession climax species in tropical, lower temperate, or subtropical broadleaved forests. They are found in low-elevation evergreen forests and littoral rainforests, on all type of soils. The seeds are readily dispersed by fruit-eating birds, and seedlings and saplings have been recorded from other habitats where they are unlikely to develop to maturity. The genus name ''Cryptocarya'' is from a Greek word ''krypto'' meaning to hide, ''karya'' meaning a walnut tree, the fruit of which was known as ''karyon'', a word also used to describe other fruits. Sometimes, they are called mountain laurels or mountain walnuts. The fruit are succulent, partially immersed in a deep, thick cup. The species forming this genus share a unique paniculate inflorescence with the ultimate divisions that are not quite cymose; that is, the lateral flowers of what looks like a cyme are not strictly opposite, but tend to be subopposite, while in most genera of Lauraceae with paniculate inflorescences the lateral flowers in a cyme are strictly opposite. In a recent generic classification of Lauraceae based on DNA sequence, ''Cryptocarya'' was found to be part of a strongly supported clade that also includes ''
Beilschmiedia ''Beilschmiedia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Lauraceae. Most of its species grow in tropical climates, but a few of them are native to temperate regions, and they are widespread in tropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, N ...
,
Potameia ''Potameia'' is a genus of plant in laurel family (Lauraceae). It contains 23 species, which are native to Madagascar (22 species) or Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a co ...
, Endiandra'' and ''
Aspidostemon ''Aspidostemon'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. It occurs in Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus was described by Jens Gunter Rohwer & Hans Georg Richter in ''Jahrbuch für Botanische Systematik, Pflanzengeschicht ...
''. In both ''Aspidostemon '' and ''Cryptocarya'', the fruit are enclosed in the enlarged hypanthium, but this might be a parallel development and not a signal of common ancestry.


Ecology

The ecological requirements of the genus are those of the
laurel forest Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elo ...
, mostly from the tropics or warmer temperate areas, and like most of their counterparts laurifolia in the world, they are vigorous species with a great ability to populate conducive habitats. The natural habitat of most of species are in rainforest which are cloud-covered for much of the year. These species are found in forests that face threats of destruction by human deforestation. Some species are in danger of extinction due to loss of habitat. ''Cryptocarya'' is a genus of great ecological importance. It is present in low rainforest and montane rainforest,
laurel forest Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elo ...
, in the weed-tree forests in valleys, and mixed forests of coniferous and deciduous broad-leaved trees. The differences are ecological adaptations to different environments over a relatively dry-wet and a warmer to mild frost (-2 Â°C) in temperate climate growing in cooler regions, subject to frost and occasional snow. The Chilean ''
Cryptocarya alba ''Cryptocarya alba'', the peumo or Chilean acorn, is an evergreen tree that grows in Chile and Argentina from 33 to 40° southern latitude. It can live both in wet and as in dry conditions. Its distribution can reach up to 1500 meters (5000  ...
'' and the Australian '' C. erythroxylon'' and '' C. foveolata'' of the mountains of New South Wales are outstanding for their frost tolerance within a genus having its majority of species growing in tropical climates. Species in less-humid environments are smaller or less robust, with less abundant and thinner foliage and have oleifera cells that give trees a more fragrant aroma. The fruit, a drupe, is an important food source for birds, usually from specialized genera. Birds eat the whole fruit and regurgitate seeds intact, expanding the seeds in the best conditions for germination ( ornitochory). In some species, seed dispersal is carried out by
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s.


Human use

The most known trees are used by the timber industry. In this genus, the wood of some species has high commercial value. ''C. alba'', the
peumo Peumo is a Chilean city and commune in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. It is believed that Peumo was named for the vast amount of Cryptocarya alba, or Peumo trees, that grow there. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the Nation ...
, the most common evergreen tree in the Chilean Matorral ecoregion of central Chile, produces edible reddish fruits and is the most known species in the
Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
. ''C. massoy'' is used commercially to produce
essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...
s. ''C. woodii'' leaves have been found in prehistoric settlements in Africa and are believed to have been used for insect control.
Essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...
is commercially harvested from ''
Cryptocarya agathophylla ''Cryptocarya agathophylla'' (sometimes called clove nutmeg) is a member of the laurel family, Lauraceae, and originates in Madagascar. Malagasy names include ', ', ' and '. The former genus name ''Ravensara'' is a latinization of the Malagasy ...
'' (formerly ''Ravensara aromatica''), a tree native to the lowland rainforests of eastern Madagascar. Known as Ravensara oil, it is used for aromatherapy in Europe and America.


Some ''Cryptocarya'' species

For full list of the 357 Cryptocarya species see
List of Cryptocarya species This is a list of ''Cryptocarya'' species, trees in the Lauraceae family. The list follows Plants of the World Online, which recognised 357 accepted species . Gallery 1 Cryptocarya alba.JPG, ''Cryptocarya alba'' Cryptocarya alba 06.jpg, ''Crypt ...
*''
Cryptocarya agathophylla ''Cryptocarya agathophylla'' (sometimes called clove nutmeg) is a member of the laurel family, Lauraceae, and originates in Madagascar. Malagasy names include ', ', ' and '. The former genus name ''Ravensara'' is a latinization of the Malagasy ...
'' – tavolobelelo or clove nutmeg (Madagascar) *''
Cryptocarya alba ''Cryptocarya alba'', the peumo or Chilean acorn, is an evergreen tree that grows in Chile and Argentina from 33 to 40° southern latitude. It can live both in wet and as in dry conditions. Its distribution can reach up to 1500 meters (5000  ...
'' — peumo (Chile) *'' Cryptocarya angulata'' — ivory laurel (Australia) *'' Cryptocarya ashersoniana'' (Brazil) *''
Cryptocarya bidwillii ''Cryptocarya bidwillii'', the yellow laurel, is a small to medium-sized tree in the laurel family. Occurring in Australian rainforests from Nymboida in the state of New South Wales to Townsville in tropical Queensland. Often found in the dryer ...
'' — yellow laurel (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya caesia ''Cryptocarya caesia'' is a tree in the family Lauraceae reported from Java Island in Indonesia and the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. This species was originally described by Blume from Java in 1851. Later, in 1884, George King located t ...
'' *''
Cryptocarya chinensis ''Cryptocarya chinensis'', commonly known as the Chinese cryptocarya, is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to the subtropical forests of Taiwan, southern China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan), and Japan Japan ( ja, æ—¥æ ...
'' *''
Cryptocarya cinnamomifolia ''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 incl ...
'' (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya crassinervia ''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 incl ...
'' (Indonesia) *''
Cryptocarya cunninghamiana ''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 incl ...
'' — Cunningham's laurel (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya densiflora ''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 incl ...
'' (Indonesia) *''
Cryptocarya elegans ''Cryptocarya elegans'' is a species of trees in the family Lauraceae. The species native range is the samoa islands. References External links

Cryptocarya, elegans Plants described in 1951 {{Laurales-stub ...
'' *''
Cryptocarya erythroxylon ''Cryptocarya erythroxylon'' is a medium to large rainforest tree, that grows from the Barrington Tops in New South Wales to the Gladstone area in Queensland. The common name is the pigeonberry ash, rose maple, or rose walnut. This is one of ...
'' — pigeonberry ash (southeast Australia) *''
Cryptocarya floydii ''Cryptocarya floydii'' is an Australian rainforest tree. It occurs in steep dry rocky gullies in northern New South Wales and adjacent areas in Queensland as far north as Bunya Mountains National Park. It grows as far south as the upper gullie ...
'' — gorge laurel (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya foetida ''Cryptocarya foetida'' is a rainforest tree growing at the eastern coastal parts of Australia. The common name is due to the allegedly offensive odour given by the flowers. The stinking cryptocarya or stinking laurel is considered vulnerable to ...
'' — stinking laurel (Australia) -vulnerable *''
Cryptocarya foveolata ''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 incl ...
'' — mountain walnut (southeast Australia) *'' Cryptocarya glaucescens'' — jackwood (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya grandis ''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 incl ...
'' — cinnamon laurel (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya gregsonii ''Cryptocarya gregsonii'', commonly known as native blackbutt, black plum or laurel, is a flowering plant in the laurel family. The specific epithet honours Jesse Gregson of Newcastle, New South Wales, a botanical friend of Maiden. Description I ...
'' (Lord Howe Island) *'' Cryptocarya hypospodia'' (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya laevigata ''Cryptocarya laevigata'', known as the glossy laurel or red-fruited laurel, is a rainforest plant growing in eastern Australia. The natural range of distribution is rainforest understorey on fertile soils, from the Richmond River, New South Wale ...
'' — glossy laurel (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya liebertiana ''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 incl ...
'' — (
Afromontane The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions ...
forests in Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, South Africa) *''
Cryptocarya mackinnoniana ''Cryptocarya mackinnoniana'' is a species of tree in the Lauraceae family. Growing up to 25m in size, it is found in well developed rainforests from the Iron Range area on Cape York Peninsula south to Paluma in North Queensland, Australia. It w ...
'' — rusty laurel (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya mannii ''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 incl ...
'' (Kaua'i) *''
Cryptocarya massoy ''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 incl ...
'' (Indonesia) *''
Cryptocarya meissneriana ''Cryptocarya meissneriana'', known as the thick-leaved laurel is a small tree growing in eastern Australia. The habitat is rainforest on the poorer sedimentary soils. The natural range of distribution is from the Wangat River (32° S) in the B ...
'' (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya micrantha ''Cryptocarya'' is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes more than 350 species, distributed through the Neotropical realm, Neotropical, Afrotropical realm, Afrotropical, Indomalayan realm, Indo ...
'' (Brazil) *''
Cryptocarya microneura ''Cryptocarya microneura'' is a rainforest tree growing at the eastern coastal parts of Australia. Habitat Common in most warm temperate rainforest areas on the poorer sedimentary soils, but also in the littoral rainforests. It grows from nea ...
'' — murrogun (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya moschata ''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 incl ...
'' (Brazil) *''
Cryptocarya murrayi ''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 incl ...
'' — Murray's laurel (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya natalensis ''Cryptocarya'' is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes more than 350 species, distributed through the Neotropical realm, Neotropical, Afrotropical realm, Afrotropical, Indomalayan realm, Indo ...
'' = ''
Dahlgrenodendron natalense ''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 incl ...
'' (South Africa) *'' Cryptocarya nigra'' (Indonesia) *''
Cryptocarya nitens ''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 incl ...
'' (Indonesia) *''
Cryptocarya nova-anglica ''Cryptocarya nova-anglica'', the mountain laurel, is a rainforest tree growing in eastern Australia. The habitat is a restricted distribution in cool temperate rainforest mostly over in altitude. The range of natural distribution is from the ...
'' — mountain laurel (Australia) *'' Cryptocarya oahuensis'' (O'ahu) *'' Cryptocarya obovata'' (Australia) *'' Cryptocarya onoprienkoana'' — rose maple (Queensland) *''
Cryptocarya palawanensis ''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 incl ...
'' ( Philippines) — endangered *''
Cryptocarya pleurosperma ''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 incl ...
'' — poison walnut (Australia) — toxic and corrosive sap *''
Cryptocarya pulchrinervia ''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 incl ...
'' (Indonesia) *''
Cryptocarya rigida ''Cryptocarya rigida'' is a small tree or shrub growing in high rainfall areas in north eastern New South Wales, Australia. It was described in 1864 by Carl Meissner in Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis. Extinct in the Illawarra re ...
'' — rose maple (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya scortechinii ''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 incl ...
'' (Indonesia) *''
Cryptocarya triplinervis ''Cryptocarya triplinervis'' is a rainforest tree growing in eastern Australia. Common names include the three veined laurel, three veined cryptocarya and the brown laurel. ''Cryptocarya triplinervis'' var. ''triplinervis'' grows in littoral ra ...
'' — brown laurel (Australia) *''
Cryptocarya wightiana ''Cryptocarya wightiana'' is a small tree or shrub found in Indian Subcontinent. Fruits Purplish black, globosa, smooth, shining drupe. Ecology Rain forest subcanopy. Uses Wood - rafters, construction. Culture Known as "gulu mora" ( ගුල ...
'' *''
Cryptocarya williwilliana ''Cryptocarya williwilliana'' is a shrub or small rainforest tree and is commonly known as the small leaved laurel. It is confined to dry rainforest on steep rocky limestone slopes or at the base of limestone cliffs. It grows in remote areas at ...
'' — small-leaved laurel (Australia) *'' Cryptocarya woodii'' *''
Cryptocarya sheikelmudiyana ''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 incl ...
'' - large (India - Western Ghats - Critically EndangeredDeepu, S. & Amitha Bachan, K.H. 2021. Cryptocarya sheikelmudiyana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T187622842A187623277. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T187622842A187623277.en) ''Cryptocarya palmerstonii is now a synonym of ''
Endiandra palmerstonii ''Endiandra palmerstonii'', popularly known as Queensland walnut or black walnut, is a rainforest tree of northern Queensland. It was named after the Australian prospector Christie Palmerston. Queensland walnut has been used as a furniture timbe ...
'', Queensland walnut (Queensland).


References


External links

* Pictures o
''Cryptocarya alba'' or Peumo
in Chile. * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3309395 Lauraceae genera Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)