Eupomatia laurina

plant

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 26, 2026

Quick Summary

Eupomatia laurina is an Australian shrub or small tree that can grow up to 5 meters (16 feet) tall. It is a member of the Eupomatiaceae family, which are woody plants characterized by simple leaves and ethereal oil cells.12

The flowers of Eupomatia laurina lack a perianth but feature petal-like staminodes. The stamens are short, and the carpels are fused and enclosed by a receptacle, with only their stigmatic tips exposed for pollination by beetles. The fruit is a globose berry formed from fused carpels. This plant is also known as native guava.21

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Magnoliales
Distribution and abundance
Eupomatia laurina is a common rainforest shrub in New Guinea and Australia, from southern Australia along the eastern coast as far north as tropical Queensland. The other species, Eupomatia bennettii, is much less common and is restricted to Australia, where it occurs near the coastal…
Read More
Eupomatia laurina is a common rainforest shrub in New Guinea and Australia, from southern Australia along the eastern coast as far north as tropical Queensland. The other species, Eupomatia bennettii, is much less common and is restricted to Australia, where it occurs near the coastal…
Read More