Cryptocarya cercophylla

Cryptocarya cercophylla is a species of flowering plant in the laurel family and is endemic to Wooroonooran National Park in north Queensland. It is a poorly-formed tree with egg-shaped to elliptic leaves, the flowers creamy-green or cream-coloured and tube-shaped, and the fruit an elliptic, red to shiny black drupe.

Description
Cryptocarya cercophylla is a small, poorly-formed tree that typically grows to a height of 10 m, sometimes with coppice shoots at the base, its stems not buttressed. Its leaves are egg-shaped to elliptic, 53–100 mm long and 22–45 mm wide on a petiole 7–13 mm long. The flowers are usually arranged in racemes of 4 to 7, 10–28 mm long and are not fragrant. The tepals are creamy-green or cream-coloured, the outer tepals 1.2–1.7 mm long and 1.2–1.5 mm wide, the inner tepals 1.7 mm long and 1.6 mm wide. Flowering has been observed in July and from October to December, and the fruit is a red to shiny black, elliptic or egg-shaped drupe 16.5–20 mm long and 10–14.5 mm wide.

Taxonomy
Cryptocarya cercophylla was first formally described in 2013 by Wendy Elizabeth Cooper in the journal Austrobaileya from specimens collected near Mount Bartle Frere. The specific epithet (cercophylla) means 'tail-leaf', referring to the tail-like tip of the leaf.

Distribution and habitat
This species of Cryptocarya grows as an understorey tree in high rainfall rainforest in Wooroonooran National Park in the Wet Tropics bioregion or north-eastern Queensland.