''Symplocos stawellii'', or the white hazelwood, is a rainforest tree growing in eastern

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 often grows along creeks in gullies, in tropical and sub-tropical rainforests. The natural distribution is from Gerringong Creek in the upper

Kangaroo Valley Kangaroo Valley is a river valley along the Kangaroo River in the Shoalhaven region of New South Wales, Australia, located west of the seaside in the City of Shoalhaven. It is also the name of the small suburb within it, formerly known as Osbor ...

(34° S) of

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 ...

to the

Atherton Tableland The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...

(17° S) in 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_ ...

. It also occurs in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

Description

A small to medium-sized tree, up to 30 metres tall and 80 cm in diameter, but usually much smaller. The trunk is straight and cylindrical, the butt is flanged in larger specimens. The bark is fairly smooth; grey or fawn in colour. Often with horizontal bands. The outer surface sometimes has vertical pustules and horizontal cracks. Leaves alternate, firm and toothed, elliptic in shape 8 to 16 cm long with a rounded leaf tip. The leaf stalk is 9 to 20 mm and smooth. Veins are visible on both sides, more prominent below with the net veins visible. The fragrant white 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 o ...

between the months of April to July. The fruit is a fleshy

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'') ...

. Blue/black and egg shaped maturing in October to April. The brown pear-shaped seeds are 8 mm long. Fruit eaten by various rainforest birds such as

rose-crowned fruit-dove The rose-crowned fruit dove (''Ptilinopus regina''), also known as pink-capped fruit dove or Swainson's fruit dove, is a medium-sized, up to 22 cm long, green fruit dove with a grey head and breast, an orange belly, whitish throat, yellow-or ...

and

superb fruit-dove The superb fruit dove (''Ptilinopus superbus''), also known as the purple-crowned fruit dove (leading to easy confusion with the purple-capped fruit dove), is a medium-sized (22–24 cm long), colourful fruit-dove in the family Columbidae. ...

Gallery

File:Symplocos stawellii leaf.jpg, Symplocos stawellii leaf on forest floor, Little Mountain,

QLD ) , 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 , establishe ...

Image:Symplocos stawellii flowers Hacking River.JPG, ''Symplocos stawellii'' flowers on the forest floor, Hacking River,

Image:Symplocos stawellii foliage Hacking River.JPG, ''Symplocos stawellii'' foliage, photographed from the forest floor, Hacking River Image:Podocarpus elatus & Symplocos stawellii Hacking River.JPG,

Podocarpus elatus ''Podocarpus elatus'', known as the plum pine, the brown pine or the Illawarra plum, is a species of ''Podocarpus'' endemic to the east coast of Australia, in eastern New South Wales and eastern Queensland. It is a medium to large evergreen tree ...

(foreground left) and the trunk of ''Symplocos stawellii'', Hacking River Image:Symplocos stawellii butt Hacking River.JPG, ''Symplocos stawellii'' base of tree, Hacking River Image:Symplocos stawellii panicle.JPG, flower

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 ...

of ''Symplocos stawellii'' Image:Symplocos stawellii bark close up.JPG, ''Symplocos stawellii'' close up of bark Image:Symplocos stawellii butt Hacking River2.JPG, ''Symplocos stawellii'' base of tree, Hacking River Image:Symplocos stawellii bark witih climber.JPG, ''Symplocos stawellii'', Hacking River

References

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(Publication details included in citation)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3595211 stawellii Ericales of Australia Trees of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of New Guinea Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller