Elaeodendron australe is a shrub or small tree growing from Tuross Head (35° S) near Moruya, 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...

 to central coastal Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

. It occurs in eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

 and rainforest ecotone

Ecotone

An ecotone is a transition area between two biomes but different patches of the landscape, such as forest and grassland. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local or regional...

 areas, and in littoral

Littoral

The littoral zone is that part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore. In coastal environments the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It always includes this intertidal zone and is often used to...

 or dry rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

s in 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...

. An unusual thick leaved form occurs at Mount Kaputar National Park

Mount Kaputar National Park

Mount Kaputar National Park is a national park in Australia, surrounding the proximities of Mount Kaputar, a volcano active between 17 and 21 million years ago. It is located east of Narrabri and northwest of Sydney. Millions of years of erosion have since carved the volcanic region into the...

 and nearby western slopes and dry tableland gorges.

Elaeodendron australe was previously included in the Cassine genus, however, now it is considered that only three African species belong to Cassine. Elaeodendron australe is easily identified by the brilliant red or orange fruit on the tree or fallen below the tree. Common names include Red Olive Berry, Red Fruited Olive Plum and Cassine.

Description

Growing to 8 metres tall and 20 cm in width. The trunk is straight and slightly flanged at the base. The outer bark is dark brown with pustules, somewhat wrinkled in older trees.

Leaves are wavy edged, or toothed, opposite on the stem. Sometimes not toothed at the basal end. Leaves are veiny, thick, egg shaped or sometimes long and thin.

Flowers are pale green, unscented with four petals, occurring in cymes, forming from August to November. Fruit are a bright orange or red drupe

Drupe

In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...

, 15 mm long. The inner capsule contains one or rarely two pointed seeds. Fruit is ripe March to July. Fruit often persists on the tree for many months. Seed germination is very slow, but reliable with around a 25% success rate after twelve months.