''Cinnamomum oliveri'' is a

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

tree growing in the eastern coastal region of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It occurs from the

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal Regions of New South Wales, region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region. It encompas ...

district (34° S) in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...

at the northern tip of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. The southernmost limit of its natural distribution is on the volcanic cliffs above the town of

Gerroa Gerroa is a coastal town in the Municipality of Kiama, in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia 133 kilometres south of Sydney. It is considered to be the southernmost town in the Illawarra region. Nearby towns are Gerringong, ...

and nearby on sand in rainforest behind

Seven Mile Beach, New South Wales Seven Mile Beach is a long beach with significant historical importance, located just south of Gerringong in the Shoalhaven area of New South Wales, Australia. History In 1933, Seven Mile Beach was used by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith as the ...

. It is a medium to large tree reaching around 30 metres tall and 75 cm in diameter. ''Cinnamomum oliveri'' has several common names, such as camphorwood, Oliver's sassafras, black sassafras and cinnamonwood. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

honours Daniel Oliver of

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

Habitat

Common in warm temperate rainforest areas on sedimentary soils in cool mountain situations, and also found in subtropical rainforest.

Description

The trunk is cylindrical or occasionally flanged. It has grey or brown bark with a corky layer. The trunk has vertical lines of corky pustules. Leaves are opposite, simple, with entire wavy margins, smooth,

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

, pointed, and gradually tapering to the base. They are shiny green above, and bluish grey

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''), ...

below. They measure 8 to 15 cm long, and 2 to 4 cm broad. The leaf stalk is 6 to 12 mm long. On both surfaces, leaf venation is distinct and the midrib is raised. In October and November, fragrant cream-coloured flowers form in

panicle In botany, 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 p ...

s at the ends of branchlets, or in the forks of leaves near the ends of the branchlets. The fruit is a blue-black or black oval, shiny, aromatic

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

, about 12 mm long. Fruit ripen from February to April, often appearing with

gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or war ...

s. Fruiting occurs roughly every seven years, and is prolific. Fruit is eaten by rainforest birds, including the

white-headed pigeon The white-headed pigeon (''Columba leucomela'') is a pigeon native to the east coast of Australia. Taxonomy and systematics The pigeon family is a group of stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a worldwide distribu ...

pied currawong The pied currawong (''Strepera graculina'') is a black passerine bird native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. One of three currawong species in the genus ''Strepera'', it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie of ...

and

green catbird The green catbird (''Ailuroedus crassirostris'') is a species of bowerbird found in subtropical forests along the east coast of Australia, from southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. It is named after its distinctive call which soun ...

. Like most Australian

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 ...

fruit, removal of the fleshy

aril An aril (), also called 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 seed to the ova ...

is advised to assist seed germination. The seed has short longevity due to deterioration on drying.

Uses

The bark of ''Cinnamomum oliveri'' contains

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

, and also an

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...

, rich in

camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (''Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the kapu ...

safrole Safrole is an organic compound with the formula CH2O2C6H3CH2CH=CH2. It is a colorless oily liquid, although impure samples can appear yellow. A member of the phenylpropanoid family of natural products, it is found in sassafras plants, among ot ...

and

methyleugenol Methyl eugenol (allylveratrol) is a natural chemical compound classified as a phenylpropene, a type of phenylpropanoid. It is the methyl ether of eugenol and is important to insect behavior and pollination. It is found in various essential oils. ...

or cinnamic aldehyde and

eugenol Eugenol is an allyl chain-substituted guaiacol, a member of the allylbenzene class of chemical compounds. It is a colorless to pale yellow, aromatic oily liquid extracted from certain essential oils especially from clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, ...

, depending on the chemical variety of the species. The oil may be used for medicinal purposes. The fragrant timber is used for indoor lining and cabinet work. Its weight is 560 to 660 kilograms per cubic metre.

Gallery

Image:Cinnamomum oliveri - juvenile Foxground.JPG, ''Cinnamomum oliveri'' juvenile, Foxground Image:Cinnamomum oliveri - bark Foxground.JPG, ''C. oliveri'' bark, Foxground Image:Cinnamomum oliveri - Seven Mile Beach.JPG, ''C. oliveri'' at

Image:Black sassafras wood sample.jpg, Black sassafras wood sample at the

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS), is a collection of 4 museums in Sydney, owned by the Government of New South Wales. Powerhouse is a contemporary museum of applied arts and sciences, explori ...

, Sydney

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q5121029 Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Laurales of Australia Plants described in 1892 Trees of Australia oliveri