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Cryptocarya laevigata
Also called Grey sassafras
Glossy laurel is a small shrub or tree, up to about 7 m, with glossy lance-shaped leaves and red to orange-yellow fruit. It is grown mainly as an ornamental for its foliage and fruit, and seeds germinate best once the slimy red aril is removed.
Cryptocarya laevigata, commonly known as red-fruited laurel, glossy laurel or grey sassafras, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lauraceae and is native to Malesia, New Guinea and eastern Australia. It is a shrub or tree with lance-shaped to elliptic leaves, creamy white, pale green and perfumed flowers, and more or less spherical, red to orange-yellow drupes.
The glossy leaves, small size and attractive red fruit make it suitable as an ornamental tree. Like most Australian Cryptocarya fruit, removal of the slimy red aril is advised to assist seed germination. Roots and shoots usually appear within three to twelve months.
Cryptocarya laevigata occurs in Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi, the Philippines New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, and Australia, where it is found in New South Wales north from Lismore and in Queensland. It grows in tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests.
Cryptocarya agathophylla · Bastard Camphor Tree · Cryptocarya
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cryptocarya laevigata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
