Cryptocarya rigida

Cryptocarya rigida, known as the rose maple or forest maple, is a small tree or shrub growing in high rainfall areas in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. It was described in 1864 by Carl Meissner in Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis. Extinct in the Illawarra region (34° S), it was allegedly seen there in 1818 by Allan Cunningham.

Habitat
Common in rainforest or eucalyptus ecotone areas, generally on poorer soils at the edge of rainforests. It is found from Wyong (33° S) in New South Wales to the border of the state of Queensland at the McPherson Range (28° S).

Description
Cryptocarya rigida, known as the rose maple or forest maple, reaches a height of ten metres and a trunk diameter of around 20 cm.

The bark is grey, with a thin corky layer. Leaves are simple and entire, often broadest at the base, 6 to 13 cm long and tapering to a long point. The upper surface is green, the underside is pale, nearly white.

The midrib is hairy, channeled above and raised below. Cream-coloured flowers appear from June to October, being unscented, downy, in panicles 1 to 2.5 cm long.

The fruit is a drupe, shiny, bluish black when ripe, oval and often pointed. It is 11 to 15 mm wide and 21 to 24 mm long with a single seed.

Like most Australian Cryptocarya fruit, removal of the fleshy aril is advised to assist seed germination, which is slow but reliable with C. rigida.