Litsea or Brown Bollygum Guzhengman/Flickr

Litsea

Did You Know?

  • Bark and leaves are used to produce natural medicines and essential oils in India and China
FactBox Image

Fast growing deciduous tree that reaches 3 - 15m in height.

Also known as Brown Bollygum.

Leaves

Oblong shaped leaf blades that are clothes in white, erect hairs.

Flowers

Clusters of cream, green or yellow flowers appear along stems from March – June.

Fruits/Seeds

Rounded black fruits (8 mm in diameter) bearing seeds that appear from September - October.

Field Guide

Improve your identification skills. Download your Litsea field guide here!

Species: WhatToObserve Image

What to Observe

  • First fully open single flower

  • Full flowering (record all days)

  • End of flowering (when 95% of the flowers have faded)

  • No flowering

  • Presence of Atlas Moth caterpillars or eggs (add in Additional comments)

Species: WhenAndWhere Image

When and Where

When To Look

  • Flowers appear from March – June
  • Fruits developed from September - October

Where To Look

  • Western Australia, Northern Territory and northern coastline of Queensland
Species: WhatElse Image

What Else?

Larvae of the Atlas Moth (a ClimateWatch species) have been found to be feeding on leaves, making it an important umbrella species for this vulnerable tropical moth species.