About Claoxylon australe Baill.
Claoxylon australe Baill. is a shrub or small tree that reaches up to 9 metres in height, with a maximum trunk diameter of 30 cm. In larger individuals, the trunk is cylindrical or somewhat flanged at the butt. The bark is fawnish brown or grey, fairly smooth, marked with vertical lines of bumps and other irregularities. Branchlets are often hairy; they are green when young, and turn fawn as they mature, with visible lenticels. Leaves are alternate, simple, and irregularly toothed. They are oblong or elliptical in shape, 5 to 12 cm long, with a blunt leaf tip. Leaf stalks measure 1 to 4 cm in length, and usually bear two small glands at their apex where they connect to the leaf blade. The leaf midrib is paler than the surrounding leaf tissue, and leaf venation is more visible on the underside of the leaf. Greenish flowers form on racemes during October and November. This species is dioecious, meaning male and female flowers grow on separate individual plants. The fruit matures between January and March; it is a purple-black, globular capsule 6 mm in diameter. Each of the capsule's three lobes holds a single red, warty seed. The fruit of Claoxylon australe Baill. is eaten by the brown cuckoo-dove and Australian king parrot.
