''Litsea bindoniana'', known as the big-leaved

bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

is a

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 ...

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. A small to medium-sized bushy tree

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the rainforests of 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_ ...

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 ...

. It features large leaves with attractive yellow venation, 25 cm (10 in) long by 10 cm (4 in) wide. They are dark green above, and paler and somewhat hairy below. The leaf stalks are hairy. The small (0.7 cm diameter) greenish flowers are fragrant and occur from March to May. They are followed by fruits which mature from September to October, being a 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'') ...

. Regeneration is from fresh seed, after removing 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 ...

around the seed. The species was first described by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

as ''Cylicodaphne bindoniana'' in 1865, before he reclassified and renamed it as ''Litsea bindoniana'' in 1882. It was named in honour of Victorian 19th century parliamentarian and agriculturist Samuel Henry Bindon. It is one of eleven species in the large Asian genus ''

Litsea ''Litsea'' is a genus of evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes a large number of accepted species in tropical and subtropical areas of North America and Asia. Characteristics They a ...

'' to reach Australia. ''Litsea bindoniana'' is found in central and northern Queensland in forests to altitudes of 1000 m (3500 ft). Its fruit are eaten by the superb fruit dove, along with many other lauraceae. It is also a food plant for the blue triangle (''

Graphium sarpedon ''Graphium sarpedon'', the common bluebottle or blue triangle in Australia, is a species of swallowtail butterfly that is found in South and Southeast Asia, as well as eastern Australia. There are approximately sixteen subspecies with diffe ...

'') and bronze flat (''

Netrocoryne repanda ''Netrocoryne repanda'', the bronze flat, eastern bronze flat, or eastern flat, is a butterfly found in Australia, belonging to the subfamily Pyrginae of the family Hesperiidae. Gallery File:Netrocoryne repanda egg dorsal.jpg, Egg, dorsal view ...

''). The leaves are used by the

tooth-billed catbird The tooth-billed bowerbird (''Scenopoeetes dentirostris''), also known as the stagemaker bowerbird or tooth-billed catbird, is a medium-sized (approximately long) bowerbird. It is a stocky olive-brown bird with brown-streaked buffish white unde ...

(''Scenopoeetes dentirostris'') to decorate its display court. ''Litsea bindoniana'' is suited as a

garden plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

in tropical situations. Young plants need protection from winds, as well as plenty of shade and moisture.David L. Jones, Rainforest Plants of Australia. page 168

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6648729 bindoniana Flora of Queensland Trees of Australia Ornamental trees Garden plants Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller