Common Name: Bolwarra

General Information

Eupomatia laurina is an erect, evergreen shrub or small tree, often with long, arching branches; it can grow up to 6 metres tall. The trunk can sometimes reach up to 30cm in diameter[].[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials.
Eupomatia laurina has a very wide distribution, large population, is not currently experiencing any major threats and no significant future threats have been identified. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2019)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Australia - Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria; Papua New Guinea

Habitat

In or near rainforests by the coast and neighbouring plateaux; at elevations up to 1,200 metres[, ].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	6.00 m
Pollinators	Weevils
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Eupomatia laurina has a native range from the warm temperate climate of southeastern Australia to the tropics of New Guinea. It is not very tolerant of frost and in temperate climates such as Britain will usually require cool greenhouse treatment[].

This species belongs to an ancient and primitive family with only two other members: the undershrub Eupomatia bennettii F.Muell., and the rarer Eupomatia barbata Jessup. The flowers need to be pollinated by weevils if they are to set fruit[].
Seed grown plants take around 4 - 6 years to produce the first fruit crop, whilst cuttings take 2 years[].
The flowers are fragrant[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw. A sweet, aromatic, pleasant taste[]. Not very palatable[]. The sweet, aromatic fruit is used as a spice-fruit in cooking and for making beverages, jams and desserts[]. The berries have an interesting taste with a soft, sweet flesh and strong, spicy seeds. The whole fruit can be dried, crushed and used to flavour foods such as ice-cream[]. The globose to urn-shaped fruit turns brownish as it ripens, it is 15 - 20mm in diameter[]. The fruits can be quite large, about 30 - 40mm in diameter, resembling a large eucalyptus capsule in outline, but lacking the valves. The seeds are embedded in the fleshy receptacle[].

Medicinal

Th stem bark has been shown to be active against some tumours[].

Other Uses

The fibrous bark is used to make fishing lines. The bark is prepared in the same way as that for Eucalyptus agglomerata[].

The yellowish-brown wood is soft, coarse and close-grained[, ]. There is a fine oak grain in the wood[]. It dresses well, is not particularly handsome, and requires the most careful seasoning[],

Propagation

Seed -