Cryptocarya sclerophylla

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Cryptocarya sclerophylla, commonly known as totempole, is a flowering tree or shrub in the laurel family that is native to eastern Australia. It grows up to about 10 meters tall and does not have buttressed stems. The elliptic leaves are about 6.5–12 cm long and 2–4.5 cm wide, with a short stalk. The creamy-green, strongly scented flowers appear in panicles about as long as the leaves. The fruit is a black drupe, roughly 1.4–1.6 cm long and 1.1–1.2 cm wide, with cream-colored seed leaves inside.

Flowering occurs from September to November. The name sclerophylla means “hard-leaved.” Bernard Hyland first described the species in 1989 from specimens collected near Currumbin Creek in 1982. Cryptocarya sclerophylla grows in rainforest at elevations of 50–200 m, from Gympie in southeast Queensland to the far north coast of New South Wales, often in places that experience long dry spells. It is listed as least concern under Queensland’s Nature Conservation Act 1992.