Notelaea microcarpa is a bush or small crooked tree from the Olive Family

Oleaceae

Oleaceae are a family containing 24 extant genera and around 600 species of mesophytic shrubs, trees and occasionally vines. As shrubs, members of this family may be twine climbers, or scramblers.-Leaves:...

, found in eastern 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...

. Two sub-species are recognised; var. microcarpa, The Velvet Mock Olive and var velutina known as the Gorge Mock Olive.

The habitat is in the under-storey of 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...

 woodland, north of the Hunter Valley

Hunter Valley

The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...

, north to 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...

. Often on rocky sites, associated with the White Box

Eucalyptus albens

Eucalyptus albens known as the White Box is a common eucalyptus tree of the western slopes and plains of New South Wales and adjacent areas in Queensland and Victoria. An isolated population grows in the southern Flinders Ranges in South Australia....

. The Gorge Mock Olive is often found in the drier fire free gully rainforest

Rainforest

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

s, in the north of 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...

. It may grow to ten metres tall, at an altitude of between 500 and 700 metres above sea level. Sites include Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

Oxley Wild Rivers National Park is in New South Wales, Australia, 445 kilometres north of Sydney and is named in memory of the Australian explorer John Oxley, who passed through the area in 1818...

 and Chaelundi National Park

Chaelundi National Park

Chaelundi is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 455 km north of Sydney and north-west of Dorrigo.-Location:The park is located in Northern NSW, Australia, near the towns of Dorrigo and Grafton, approximately 600km by road north of Sydney....

.

This plant first appeared in the scientific literature in 1810, in the Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae, authored by the prolific Scottish botanist, Robert Brown

Robert Brown (botanist)

Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...

.