Rhodosphaera rhodanthema 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 of 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...

. It grows in sub tropical rainforests and also in the drier form of rainforests. The natural range of distribution is from the Macleay River

Macleay River

The Macleay River is a major river on the Mid North Coast , Australia.The headwaters of the Macleay River rise as the Gara River on the eastern side of the Northern Tablelands near Armidale and Walcha, New South Wales. From here the Chandler River, Styx River and Apsley Rivers are important...

, New South Wales to Maryborough

Maryborough, Queensland

Maryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is serviced by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000 . It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is...

 in south east 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...

. Common names include Deep Yellowwood, Yellow Cedar and Tulip Satinwood.

Description

A medium sized tree growing to around 25 metres tall and a trunk diameter of 75 cm. The trunk is cylindrical with buttressing at the base. The bark is scaly dark brown.

Leaves are lobed when coppicing or juvenile, somewhat resembling an oak leaf. Mature leaves are pinnate and alternate with six to twelve leaflets, 4 to 7 cm long and 1 to 2 cm broad. More or less opposite each other on the stem, not equal at the leaf base. Leaf shape is elliptic to elliptic lanceolate with a blunt tip. Sometimes with minor leaf serrations, otherwise entire. The leaf's midrib is raised on both surfaces.

Red flowers form in panicles in the months of September to October. Male and female flowers are sometimes on different trees.

The fruit is a shiny dark brown 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...

, 1 cm in diameter. (Resembling a chocolate). Inside the fruit is one flat seed, around 9 mm long. The fruit is ripe from February to June.

Regeneration is fairly slow but reliable. Scraping or filing the seed is advised to assist seed germination.

Uses

The yellow timber is well regarded, being fine grained and attractively figured. Also Rhodosphaera rhodanthema is an appealing park tree.