Callicoma serratifolia is an Australian tree that can reach up to 20m tall, but is normally between 5m and 10m tall. This species is monotypic, meaning that it is the only species in its genus. The binomial name of this pretty tree has the following meanings-Callicoma is a Greek word that means ‘beautiful hair’ which refers to the fluffy flowers, while serratifolia is Latin and means saw-leaved. Callicoma is in the Cunoniaceae family, although it is often included in the Saxifragaceae family. Young stems can be reddish in colour with hairs on them.

Leaves are in an opposite arrangement and elliptic to lanceolate in shape. They are 5-10cm long by 3-5cm wide with an acute apex. The leaf margins are serrated (toothed). They are dark green on the upper surface and white or rusty-haired underneath. Flowers are creamy yellow in colour. They appear from the leaf axils in a ball up to 15mm in diameter.

This isn’t a tree that I see in cultivation, only in the bush or somewhere where it has self seeded. It naturally grows in rainforest and its margins. It often appears in forest regrowth and it is very common along creeks and in rocky gullies. Callicoma is distributed along the coast from Batemens Bay in New South Wales north to Queensland.

• Photos are all my own
• HTTPS://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au
• Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, 2003, Robinson, L., 3rd Edition, Simon & Schuster Australia