''Beilschmiedia elliptica'', known as the grey walnut is a rainforest laurel growing in eastern Australia. The range of natural distribution is from Forster, New South Wales (32° S) to Fraser Island (25° S) in south eastern Queensland. ''Beilschmiedia elliptica'' grows in warm temperate and sub tropical rainforests. Not a rare species, but seldom identified in the rainforest.

Description

A medium to large tree reaching to 30 metres tall and 90 cm in trunk diameter. The cylindrical trunk is reddish brown or grey, with raised dots and depressions in the bark. The tree's base is somewhat buttressed or flanged. Shoots and stems hairy. The elliptic shaped leaves are alternate and not toothed, 8 to 10 cm long and 2 to 3 cm wide. Leaf venation is prominent on both sides, with a raised midrib and prominent intramarginal vein. Cream flowers form 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 ...

from August to October. The fruit is a black round

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'') ...

with a

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

bloom, 12 mm long with a single seed inside. Fruit ripe from February to April. As with most Australian laurels, 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, which is slow but fairly reliable with ''Beilschmiedia elliptica''. The fruit is eaten by a variety of birds, including rose-crowned fruit dove, topknot pigeon and white-headed pigeon.

References

* Floyd, A.G., ''Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia'', Inkata Press 1989, * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4881250 Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Laurales of Australia elliptica Trees of Australia