Ceratopetalum is a genus of nine species of shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 and tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 in the family Cunoniaceae

Cunoniaceae

The Cunoniaceae is a family of 26 genera and about 350 species of woody plants in the Antarctic flora, with many laurifolia species with glossy leaves endemic to laurel forest habitat. The family is native to Australia, New Caledonia, New Guinea, New Zealand, southern South America, the Mascarene...

. They are found along the eastern coast of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and extend north to New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

. Two Australian species are among the best known, one being C. apetalum

Coachwood

Ceratopetalum apetalum, Coachwood, also called Scented Satinwood or Tarwood, is a medium-sized hardwood tree, straight-growing with smooth, fragrant, greyish bark. It is in the family Cunoniaceae...

or coachwood, renowned as a timber tree, and C. gummiferum, the New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 bush, so named as it flowers in December.

Selected species

• Ceratopetalum apetalum
  Coachwood
  Ceratopetalum apetalum, Coachwood, also called Scented Satinwood or Tarwood, is a medium-sized hardwood tree, straight-growing with smooth, fragrant, greyish bark. It is in the family Cunoniaceae...
  
  D.Don (Coachwood)
• Ceratopetalum corymbosum C.T.White
• Ceratopetalum gummiferum
  Ceratopetalum gummiferum
  Ceratopetalum gummiferum, the New South Wales Christmas Bush, is a tall shrub popular in cultivation due to its flowers that turn bright red-pink at around Christmas time...
  
  Sm. (NSW Christmas Bush)
• Ceratopetalum hylandii Rozefelds & R.W.Barnes
• Ceratopetalum iugumensis Rozefelds & R.W.Barnes
• Ceratopetalum macrophyllum Hoogland
• Ceratopetalum succirubrum
  Ceratopetalum succirubrum
  Ceratopetalum succirubrum is a species of plant in the Cunoniaceae family. It is found in Australia, West Papua , and Papua New Guinea. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* Eddowes, P.J. 1998. . Downloaded on 21 August 2007....
  
  C.T.White
• Ceratopetalum tetrapterum Mattf.
• Ceratopetalum virchowii F.Muell.

Fossil evidence

Fossil evidence for Ceratopetalum species has been found in Eocene

Eocene

The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...

 deposits in South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

. Named fossil species include Ceratopetalum maslinensis and Ceratopetalum westermannii.