''Litsea leefeana'', known as the brown bolly gum or brown bollywood 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 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 ...

. The specific epithet is named after a Mr. Leefe, a botanical collector from the Kennedy district of northern Queensland. 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. After study by

Bernard Hyland Bernard Hyland (Bernard Patrick Matthew Hyland, born 1937), known as Bernie Hyland, is an Australian botanist. He has contributed significantly to the understanding of Australian plants, in particular numerous species of his home and workplace ...

, the southern Queensland and

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 ...

populations of what was known as this plant have been renamed ''

Litsea australis ''Litsea australis'', the brown bollygum or brown bollywood is a species of rainforest tree in the Lauraceae, laurel family, found in eastern Australia. The specific epithet ''australis'' means "southern". As this southern population was consider ...

''. Leaves are elliptical in shape, alternate on the stem. 8 to 13 cm long with a blunt tip. Leaf venation is prominent and attractive on both sides of the leaf. Green or cream colour flowers form from leaf scars on the branchlets or in the leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s. The fruit is 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'') ...

, eaten by a variety of rainforest birds. Regeneration is not difficult from fresh seed, if the black

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 removed. ''Litsea leefeana'' 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 situations free from frost. Young plants need protection from winds, as well as plenty of shade and moisture.

Butterflies

Many butterfly larvae eat the leaves of this plant, including '' Chaetocneme beata'', '' Chaetocneme critomedia'', ''

Chaetocneme porphyropis ''Chaetocneme porphyropis'', the purple brown-eye or purple dusk-flat, is a species of butterfly of the family Hesperiidae endemic to tropical Queensland, between Innisfail and Daintree on the Atherton Tableland. Its wingspan is about 60 m ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Trapezites phigalia'' and '' Trapezites petalia''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6648737 leefeana Flora of Queensland Trees of Australia Ornamental trees Garden plants Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller