Scientific Name: Eupomatia laurina

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  • Pronunciation:
    you-pah-MAY-tee-ah law-REEN-ah
  • Common Name:
    Bolwarra, Native Guava, Scented Laurel, Copper Laurel
  • Derivation:
    Eupomatia: Gr. eu - well, pomation - a small cap. (Refers to a small cap or operculum on the flower.) ||laurina: L. Laurus - the Laurel or Bay Tree.
  • Type:
  • Family:
    EUPOMATIACEAE (ancient and primitive family)
  • Flowers:
    White. Fertilised by small beetles, perfumed, November to January
  • Fruit:
    Berry, greenish/yellow, soft 2 cm dia, edible, cup-shaped
  • Vegetation Type:
    Wet Eucalypt Forest, Moist Rainforest and along shady watercourses
  • Species List:
    Bush food, FI Podberscek, Wooroi Day Use Area Tracks, Wooroi Palm Grove, BSDoonan, Cooloothin Corner, Tewantin Forest Gyndier, Fraser Island, Batianoff 87, Upper Yandina Creek, NNP Palm Grove, Stratford Park, Heritage Park
Cultural Notes

TAKE CARE! Some information about bush foods and medicines may be anecdotal. Correct identification and preparation is essential:

Bush food: Fruit edible. The fruit is green and urn-shaped, 2-3 cm in diameter, and the sweet creamy pulp is edible, but full of seeds, rather like a guava. Fruits ripen in winter and are ready to eat when they are soft to squeeze. They can be used in jams and jellies, and are quite good to eat raw, although the seeds are a bit of a nuisance. (Jan Sked, SGAP)

Bark used for fishing lines preserved with sap of Corymbia gummifera.

Identification Notes

Branches: long and straggling. ||Branchlets: zigzag. ||Leaves two-ranked, soft, shiny||

Landscaping Notes

Excellent shrub for partial shade. Admirably suited to garden culture. Strongly perfumed flowers. Prefers well-drained soils. ||Indoor pot plant potential.||Propagation from seed ripening April-June, and quite easy to grow from cuttings. (Darren Mansfield)||Successfully propagated by Florabunda Bushcare nursery, Woombye||Successfully propagated by Mooloolah Native Nursery||Successfully propagated by Barung Landcare||