Litsea fawcettiana (F.Muell.) B.Hyland

Lauraceae

Hyland, B.P.M. (1989) Australian Systematic Botany 2: 260.

Bollywood, Brown; Brown Bollywood; Brown Beech; Bollygum; Bollywood; Beech, Brown

Blaze odour usually conspicuous but difficult to describe, at times resembling that of a freshly sharpened pencil, spice or pepper (Piper nigrum). Bark usually shed in large flakes about 5 x 10 cm on larger trees. Yellowish flecks or stripes usually apparent in the blaze. A thin cream or pale brown layer generally visible beneath the subrhytidome layer before the first section of the outer blaze.

Twigs terete or slightly fluted, clothed in straight, white or pale brown, appressed hairs when young, eventually becoming +/- glabrous. Leaf blades about 6-14 x 2-7.5 cm, green on the underside, clothed in straight and tortuous, white or pale brown, appressed hairs when very young, soon becoming almost completely glabrous. Midrib cream or translucent, depressed or flush with the upper surface. Petioles flat or channelled on the upper surface. Oil dots visible with a lens. Lateral veins normally forming loops inside the blade margin.

Male flowers: Tepals about 1.5-4 mm long. Glands attached to the staminal filaments. Stamens about 6-10 per flower, filaments hairy at least towards the base. Female flowers: Tepals about 1.5-2.3 mm long. Glands attached to the staminodes. Ovary glabrous.

Fruits ellipsoid, about 11-15.5 x 7-10 mm. Receptacle about 8-12.5 x 6.5-9 mm. Seed about 9.5-14 x 4.5-7.5 mm. Cotyledons white or cream.

First pair of leaves ovate or elliptic, about 20-45 x 11-23 mm, green on the underside. At the tenth leaf stage: leaves narrowly elliptic, elliptic or obovate, upper surface with a few hairs along the midrib usually towards the base of the leaf blade; oil dots numerous, small, easily seen with a lens; petiole clothed in pale almost prostrate hairs. Seed germination time 16 to 23 days.

Endemic to Queensland, occurs in CYP, NEQ, CEQ and southwards to south-eastern Queensland. Altitudinal range from sea level to 1350 m. Grows in well developed rain forest and drier, more seasonal rain forest on a variety of sites.

This species produces millable logs and the sawn timber is marketed as Bollywood, a useful general purpose timber. Wood specific gravity 0.50-0.53. Hyland (1989).

Cylicodaphne fawcettiana F.Muell., Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae 5: 168(1865), Type: In silvis haud procul ab urbe Rockhampton imprimis ad montem Archeri; tunc etiam ad sinum Rockinghams Bay. Thozet.