English: Possumwood
Genus: 1 species.
Region: eastern Australia; New South Wales.
Habitat: rainforests at high altitude.
BotanyMedium-sized tree, to 25 metres tall.
Stem: diameter of 75 cm; somewhat buttressed at the base, with a corky reddish brown bark. Leaves: alternate, not toothed, in the shape of an ellipse; 7 to 12 cm long with a short point; underside has tiny red dots; veins on both surfaces; mid vein is depressed on the upper surface and raised on the underside.
Flowers: white, on panicles; flowering from October to November.
Fruit: grey brown capsule; 3 mm in diameter; 3 to 5 cells within,
Seeds: tiny; several in each cell.
Dispersion: by wind; often germinate as a hemiepiphyte on the trunks of rocks and tree ferns such as
Dicksonia antarctica; germinating with small roots, sensitive to draught and light.
Ecology: host to the leaf miner moth Lyonetia lechrioscia.