Litsea leefeana, known as the Brown Bolly Gum or Brown Bollywood is a rainforest

Rainforest

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

 tree in the laurel

Lauraceae

The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...

 family. A small to medium sized tree endemic to the rainforests of tropical 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...

, 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...

.

The specific epithet is named after a Mr. Leefe, a botanical collector from the Kennedy district of northern Queensland. It is one of eleven species in the large Asian genus Litsea

Litsea

Litsea is a genus of evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes 200 to 400 species in tropical and subtropical areas of both hemispheres.-Overview:Trees or shrubs, dioecious...

to reach Australia.

After study by Bernard Hyland

Bernard Hyland

Bernard Hyland, known as Bernie Hyland is an Australian botanist with an expert knowledge of rainforest plants. Many species are named in his honour. Such as Alpinia hylandii, Ceratopetalum hylandii and Cleistanthus hylandii.- External links :...

, the southern Queensland and 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...

 populations of what was known as this plant have been re-named Litsea australis.

Leaves are elliptical in shape, alternate on the stem. 8 to 13 cm long with a blunt tip. Leaf venation is prominent and attractive on both sides of the leaf. Green or cream colour flowers form from leaf scars on the branchlets or in the leaf axils. The fruit is a black 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...

, eaten by a variety of rainforest birds. Regeneration is not difficult from fresh seed, if the black aril

Aril

An aril is any specialized outgrowth from the funiculus that covers or is attached to the seed. It is sometimes applied to any appendage or thickening of the seed coat in flowering plants, such as the edible parts of the mangosteen and pomegranate fruit, the mace of the nutmeg seed, or the...

 is removed.

Litsea leefeana is suited as an garden plant in situations free from frost. Young plants need protection from winds, as well as plenty of shade and moisture.

Butterflies

Many butterfly larvae eat the leaves of this plant, including Chaetocneme beata

Chaetocneme beata

Chaetocneme beata, the Common Red-Eye or Eastern Dull-Flat, is a species of butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in edges of the upland rainforest along the coast of Queensland and New South Wales.The wingspan is about 50 mm....

, Chaetocneme critomedia

Chaetocneme critomedia

Chaetocneme critomedia, the Banded Red-eye or Banded Dust-flat, is a species of butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in Indonesia , New Guinea and Australia.The wingspan is about 50 mm....

, Chaetocneme porphyropis

Chaetocneme porphyropis

Chaetocneme porphyropis, the Purple Brown-Eye or Purple Dusk-Flat, is a species of butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is endemic to tropical Queensland, between Innisfail and Daintree and on the Atherton Tableland....

, Graphium sarpedon

Graphium sarpedon

Graphium sarpedon, the common bluebottle or blue triangle , is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in South and Southeast Asia, as well as parts of Australia. There are approximately 15 subspecies with differing geographical distributions.-Description:Upperside opaque black...

, Trapezites phigalia

Trapezites phigalia

The Heath Ochre Skipper is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.The wingspan is about 30 mm....

 and Trapezites petalia

Trapezites petalia

The Common White Spot Skipper is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in Queensland and New South Wales.The wingspan is about 30 mm....

.