Corynocarpus rupestris

Description

Corynocarpus rupestris, commonly known as the Glenugie karaka, is a rainforest tree found in eastern Australia. It is a rare plant with a ROTAP rating of 2VC-t. There are two sub-species; arborescens is a small hairless shrub or tree up to 13 metres (45 ft) tall with a stem diameter up to 40 cm (16 in), and sub-species rupestris grows only to 6 metres (20 ft), with a stem diameter up to 17 cm (7 in).Corynocarpus rupestris is a small, dense, bushy tree or tall shrub of 2–5 m, or a leafy canopy tree that grows to a height of 13 m with erect or spreading branches. As a shrub, its trunk is usually multi-stemmed and has a smooth, semi-corky bark with broad, shallow fissures. Branchlets with prominent scars form scale leaves.The thick, stiff, glossy, leathery, and smooth leaves are dark green above and paler beneath, 5–18 cm long and 3–7 cm wide. Leaves usually alternate in three whorls on juvenile plants and are oval, teardrop-shaped, or lance-shaped. The scale leaves of 2–3 mm long are glossy. Leaves on young plants or on the lower parts of adult plants are so strongly and sharply toothed that they appear to be of a different species. Some intermediate leaves are usually present.Leaves have an apex which ends in a stiff, bristle-like point, and their base extends downward. The margins of leaves are slightly recurved, undulate, and are entire except for spiny teeth in juveniles.In winter and spring (August to November in Australia), Corynocarpus rupestris produces a stout, erect cluster 10–21 cm long of tiny flowers with petioles which are greenish-cream, white, off-white or pale yellow, and 10–15 mm long. The individual flowers are 4–5 mm in diameter with petals 2.4-3.5 mm long. The pedestals are usually 3–5 mm long, and the sepals are 2–4 mm long.The fruit is a rounded or spherical drupe, red and glossy with a diameter of 1–4 cm, ending in a tiny point in some sub-species, containing a single kernel with a seed. The fruit ripens in summer and autumn (January to April in Australia), and the seed dispersion is mostly the result of scattering by columbiform birds.