Eupomatia laurina

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots >   Magnoliales > Eupomatiaceae  > Eupomatia  laurina

Other links:

Plant  information

Common name:               Bolwarra

• Also, ative guava or copper laurel

Conservation status:  ...

Etymology:   

Flowers:                  

• Flowers are pollinated by small weevils, including Elleschodes hamiltoni and others in the same genus

Fruit:                         

• The branches bear globose to urn-shaped fruits which are green in colour and measure 15–20 mm in diameter

• They yellow when ripe and contain pale-coloured, edible, jelly-like flesh inside

• With many non-edible seeds (similar appearance to guava contents)

• The sweet, aromatic fruit is used as a spice-fruit in cooking and in beverages, jams and desserts

• It is best used in combination with other ingredients that complement its strong flavour, and hence should be considered one of the Australian spices

Leaves:         

• Glossy, ovate to elliptic leaves, from 5 to 20 cm  long

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A shrub usually between 3 and 5 m tall

• Larger specimens may attain a height of 15 m and a trunk diameter of 30 cm 

Habitat:   

• In Australia, it is found in humid forests of the east coast

• It usually grows as an understorey plant in rainforests or humid Eucalypt forests

Distribution:                  

• Endemic to Australia and New Guinea

• In Australia, it is found of the east coast, from as far south as Nowa Nowa in Victoria, north through NSW to the Cape York Peninsula 

Additional notes:     

• Cultivation

  • Germination from fresh seed commences after around three weeks and completes after five weeks, with a high rate of germination

  • It is frost sensitive and prefers a protected, semi-shaded site

  • It can be propagated from seed or cuttings

  • Cutting propagated trees produce fruit after two years

  • Seedlings take four to six years to fruit

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eupomatia_laurina (2023)