Cryptocarya glaucescens (Native Laurel)

Last month, we featured Murrogun, Cryptocarya microneura. This is another species of Cryptocarya, and the untrained eye will find it difficult to tell the difference between glaucescens and microneura.

Glaucescens is commonly known as jackwood or native laurel. It is common on the upper reaches of the escarpment. Its bark is grey to blackish with alternative, elliptical leaves, with a bluish covering underneath, and the midrib is white or yellowish.

While Cryptocarya microneura occurs naturally in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve, and there is one large tree not far from the Child Care Centre, lantana and senna invasions restricted its spread through natural propagation. However, once the invasive weeds were removed quite a few of them have started to come up. In the interests of biodiversity, we have planted one Cryptocarya glaucescens to the left of the track from Stanwell Avenue to the picnic area.

The constant rain has been great for natural propagation of native species, but it has also encouraged the spread of invasive weeds. A new one that has recently appeared is fireweed, which looks a little like a dandelion, but has 13 petals. It is important to remove it before it seeds.