''Atherosperma moschatum'' subsp. ''integrifolium'' is a small

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

tree native to the

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American ...

s of central and northern

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 ...

, Australia. In 2006, it was recognised as a separate subspecies by

Richard Schodde Richard Schodde, OAM (born 23 September 1936) is an Australian botanist and ornithologist. Schodde studied at the University of Adelaide, where he received a BSc (Hons) in 1960 and a PhD in 1970. During the 1960s he was a botanist with the CSI ...

. Common names include "southern sassafras - narrow leaf form" and "blackheart sassafras". Floyd, A.G., ''Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia'', Inkata Press 2008, page 83

Description

The southern sassafras is a shrub or a small tree, growing from 1 to 30 m tall. The trunk is not buttressed and somewhat cylindrical. The bark is fairly smooth with bumps and lenticels, often also marked with moss and lichen. Young shoots and new growth are noticeably hairy. It is a scented and beautiful tree, especially when in flower. Its leaves are narrower than the more southern form of ''A. m.'' subsp. ''moschatum'', and many of the leaves are entire, though some small prickles grow on a minority of leaves. Leaves are opposite on the stem, 8 cm long, 1 cm wide, white underneath, glossy above, and veiny. They are pleasantly scented when crushed. Flowers form in winter, facing down to avoid rain and snow. Petals are white, and yellow and maroon in the centre. The fruit capsules mature and open around January, releasing feathery wind-blown seeds. Germination is unreliable. However, abundant new seedlings may unexpectedly form. Seedlings are unlikely to survive at lower altitudes.

Habitat

Its habitat is cool, moist, protected areas, ranging from 650 to 1540 m above sea level, near streams. Almost always it is seen growing with the black olive berry. Often found on the richer volcanic soils, it also grows in

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

slot canyons where it may be in a dwarf form. An uncommon or rare plant, it may be seen at the

Mount Tomah Botanic Garden The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, originally known as the Mount Tomah Botanical Garden, is a public botanic garden located approximately west of the Sydney central business district at in the Blue Mountains, in New South Wales, Australia. Th ...

west of Sydney, or on the Neates Glen walk at Blackheath.

Distribution

It is found in four areas:

Monga National Park The Monga National Park is a national park located south west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The closest town nearby is Braidwood. Monga features outstanding high altitude eucalyptus forest and temperate rainforest. It contains the C ...

, Blue Mountains,

Barrington Tops Barrington Tops is part of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales, Australia, between Gloucester and Scone. In 1934, the area was difficult to access and was described as being "not traceable to any man-made feature". Part of the area has ...

, and at Mount Grundy west of

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea c ...

, by streams such as the Tia River. It may also be undiscovered in the

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

to the south, and

New England National Park The New England National Park is a protected national park located on the Northern Tablelands in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The park was created in May 1935 and is situated approximately north of Sydney, and south ...

to the north. The original specimen was collected in the Blue Mountains.

Historical uses

The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that "The fragrant bark of this tree has been used as tea in Tasmania. A decoction or infusion of the green or dried bark was made, and according to Mr. Gunn, it has a pleasant taste when taken with plenty of milk. Its effect is, however, slightly aperient. It is also used in the form of a beer. The bark contains an agreeable bitter, of much repute as a tonic amongst sawyers. It is called Native Sassafras from the odour of its bark, due to an essential oil closely resembling true sassafras in odour. Bosisto likens the smell of the inner bark to new ale, and says that a decoction from this part of the tree is a good substitute for yeast in raising bread. It is diaphoretic and diuretic in asthma and other pulmonary affections, but it is known more especially for its sedative action on the heart, and it has been successfully used in some forms of heart disease. It is prepared of the strength of 4 ounces of the bark to 20 ounces of rectified spirit, and is given in doses of 30 to 60 drops, usually on a lump of sugar. The volatile oil of the bark alone is said to have a lowering action on the heart. See "Volatile and Essential Oils." The bark has been examined by N. Zeyer, who has found in it volatile oil, fixed oil, wax, albumin, gum, sugar, starch, butyric acid, an aromatic resin, iron-greening tannic acid, and an alkaloid which he designates atherospermine. ."

Genetic study

Genetic studies of the subspecies, along with the more widespread southerly distributed subspecies, ''

Atherosperma moschatum ''Atherosperma moschatum'', the southern sassafras or blackheart sassafras, is an evergreen tree native to the cool temperate rainforests of Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales in Australia. It is common in the rainforests of Tasmania and Vic ...

'' subsp. ''moschatum'', have shown that populations of the subspecies ''A. m. integrifolium'' are the most strongly diverged of all populations within the range of the species at both

isozyme In biochemistry, isozymes (also known as isoenzymes or more generally as multiple forms of enzymes) are enzymes that differ in amino acid sequence but catalyze the same chemical reaction. Isozymes usually have different kinetic parameters (e.g. dif ...

s and

chloroplast DNA Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) is the DNA located in chloroplasts, which are photosynthetic organelles located within the cells of some eukaryotic organisms. Chloroplasts, like other types of plastid, contain a genome separate from that in the cell n ...

. These results are consistent with long-term isolation of these populations through at least the last glacial period.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4813572 Atherospermataceae Laurales of Australia Trees of Australia Flora of New South Wales Plant subspecies