Menu
A shrub or tree to 8 metres with a spreading open crown to about 4 metres.
It grows naturally in sub-tropical areas of south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern NSW, in disjunct patches, from north of Taree, to south of Caboolture in Queensland.
Anopterus have simple and alternate leaves. In this species, they are often clustered towards the end of branches; large, glossy, dark green and toothed, to 30 cm long and 5 cm wide.
This species produces flowers in racemes, from mid spring to early summer; flowers have 6 to 9 calyx-teeth and petals, as well as 6 to 9 stamens surrounding one carpel; somewhat cup-shaped and white in colour, to 12 mm long.
The fruit is a capsule, ovoid in shape to 8 mm in diameter, with purple colouring.
Author’s notes:
These plants make a great feature plant in the right position OR an attractive pot plant suitable for indoor decoration.
In cultivation, it does not grow as tall as in its natural habitat of higher elevations where it is constantly moist.
I occasionally prune branches back by about a 1/3 to maintain it as an informal hedge.
I have had two Anopterus macleayanus plants growing for many years in my northern suburbs Sydney garden. They receive morning sun and afternoon shade. Ideally, they need constant soil moisture to grow at their best, however my plants are growing quite well, under a large 80 year old English oak, in a raised bed which has a good covering of leave litter. They only need supplementary watering in extended dry periods in summer.
Editor’s notes:
Grow on a well-drained enriched soil. It responds well to addition of organic fertilisers and additional water. Best planted in dappled shade.
Propagation is easy from seed
This species is likely not overly prone to bushfire and is likely detrimented by fire in terms of regeneration.
Anopterus is a genus of two species, endemic to Australia; this one occurring in NSW and Queensland and a second species, A. glandulosus, endemic to Tasmania.
Anopterus – from the Greek ano (ανω) – meaning “above” or “upwards” and –pteron (πτέρον) meaning “feather” or “wing” – referring to the winged-nature of the seeds in the fruit.
macleayanus – This species was first formally described in 1859 by botanist Ferdinand von Mueller who named it in Honour of Sir William Macleay (1820 – 1891); a Scottish-Australian politician and zoologist and first president of the Linnean Society of New South Wales.
This species is not considered to be at risk of extinction in the wild.
NSW Flora Online (PlantNET) – Anopterus macleayanus profile page https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Anopterus~macleayanus
Wikipedia – Anopterus macleayanus profile page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anopterus_macleayanus
Flora and Fauna of the Mid North Coast of New South Wales – Anopterus macleayanus factsheet http://www.floragreatlakes.info/html/rfspecies/laurel.html