Elaeocarpus holopetalus

Black olive berry
File:Elaeocarpus holopetalus - Leura pool.jpg
E. holopetalus, Blue Mountains National Park, Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Oxalidales
Family:	Elaeocarpaceae
Genus:	Elaeocarpus
Species:	E. holopetalus
Binomial name
Elaeocarpus holopetalus F. Muell.

Elaeocarpus holopetalus, mountain quandong , is a small rainforest tree of eastern Australia. It grows from near the Snowy River (37°S) to Chaelundi National Park (29°S) in northern New South Wales. It grows at high altitude in gullies.

E. holopetalus is often seen with the southern sassafras, such as at Errinundra National Park, South East Forest National Park, Blue Mountains National Park, and Barrington Tops National Park. It is also associated with the Antarctic beech at Barrington Tops National Park and other northerly sites such as New England National Park.

Common names include black olive berry, mountain blue-berry, and mountain quandong.

Description

It is usually a large bush or a small tree. However, rare specimens are most impressive; being 2 m wide at the base, and 25 m tall. The trunk is straight with dark grey or brown outer bark, relatively smooth with some fissures and wrinkles.

Leaves are particularly serrated, 3 to 7 cm long, mid to dark green above, and paler below. They show prominent venation, particularly on the underside. Another identifying feature of this and other Elaeocarpus trees is the senescent red leaves.

White flowers appear on paired racemes in November and December. The fruit is a black- or (immature) maroon-coloured drupe, 9 mm long, maturing from March to October. Like many Australian Elaeocarpus trees, germination is slow and difficult. However, cuttings prove more successful.

Gallery

• Elaeocarpus holopetalus - Leura tree.JPG

  E. holopetalus, Blue Mountains National Park

• Elaeocarpus holopetalus - Leura drupe.JPG

  E. holopetalus - leaves and fruit

• Blue Mountains Stream with leaves of Elaeocarpus holopetalus & Atherosperma moschatum.jpg

  A mountain stream with orange/red senescent leaves of E. holopetalus, other leaves are southern sassafras and Blue Mountains ash.

• Elaeocarpus holopetalus hemiepiphyte Devils Creek Tantawangalo.jpg

  Black olive berry growing as a hemiepiphyte on a soft tree fern at Devil's Creek, South East Forest National Park

• Elaeocarpus holopetalus & Atherosperma - Brown Mountain.jpg

  E. holopetalus (left) and southern sassafras (right) near Nimmitabel

• Elaeocarpus holopetalus 25 m tall Mount Imlay.jpg

  Black olive berry at its best development: 25 m tall at Mount Imlay, Australia

References

• Floyd, A.G., Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia, Inkata Press 1989, ISBN 0-909605-57-2