Endiandra discolor (Lauraceae)

Endiandra discolor

This tree of rain forest is known commonly as the Rose Walnut or even more descriptively as the Domatia Tree, the latter name alluding to the large and obvious domatia occuring at the lateral nerve-midrib junctions at the underside of the leaves. The domatia cause a swelling that can be viewed even from the upper side of the leaf. In addition to this feature, the leaf underside is distinctively glaucous, hence the specific epithet ‘discolor’. Another similar species I’ve seen is Endiandra cowleyi, which has a similar leaf shape and domatia but the leaf undersides are green and glossy.

Endiandra discolor

Endiandra discolor

Endiandra discolor

Endiandra discolor

About David Tng

I am David Tng, a hedonistic botanizer who pursues plants with a fervour. I chase the opportunity to delve into various aspects of the study of plants. I have spent untold hours staring at mosses and allied plants, taking picture of pollen, culturing orchids in clean cabinets, counting tree rings, monitoring plant flowering times, etc. I am currently engrossed in the study of plant ecology (a grand excuse to see 'anything I can). Sometimes I think of myself as a shadow taxonomist, a sentimental ecologist, and a spiritual environmentalist - but at the very root of it all, a "plant whisperer"!
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