Polyosma cunninghamii, known as the Featherwood, is a small rainforest tree of eastern Australia. It grows in many different types of rainforest, however seldom found in the drier rainforests. It's often seen in the cooler rainforests at high altitude. The range of natural distribution is from Kioloa (35° S) near Batemans Bay in southern 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 Maleny (26° S) in south eastern 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...

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Description

A tree to 15 metres and a trunk diameter of 25 cm. The dark brown bark has wrinkles and vertical ridges.

Young shoots are hairy towards the leaf buds. Leaves opposite, simple, reverse lanceolate, 5 to 10 cm long with four to six serrations on each side. Leaf stalks around 3 to 6 mm long. The midrib is raised below the leaf, but depressed on the top of the leaf.

Fragrant flowers form in racemes from March to November. White or yellowish/green. The fruit is an attractive black ovate berry

Berry

The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....

, 15 to 20 mm long with longitudinal lines. Fruit matures from March to August, though it can fruit at other times. Eaten by various birds including the Green Catbird

Green Catbird

The Green Catbird, Ailuroedus crassirostris is a species of bowerbird found on subtropical forests along the east coast of Australia, from southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. Its colouring is emerald green, with faint black markings on the face and white streaks on the neck.Green...

 and Rose Crowned Fruit Dove. Germination from fresh seed is slow, taking six to ten months.