Endlicheria paniculata

Endlicheria paniculata is an evergreen tree in the Lauraceae family widely distributed across the Neotropics, occurring from southern Mexico through Central America and into much of tropical South America including Amazonian Brazil, the Guianas, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and northern Argentina, as well as the Brazilian Atlantic forest. It grows in lowland and lower montane humid forests, often along riverbanks and in disturbed forest, reaching 8 to 20 metres in height with a slender, straight trunk and smooth to slightly fissured greyish bark. The young branchlets are densely covered with short rusty-brown tomentum. The alternate, simple leaves are coriaceous, elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 8 to 20 centimetres long and 3 to 7 centimetres wide, with entire margins, an acute to acuminate apex and a cuneate base; the upper surface is glabrous and dark green while the lower surface bears persistent ferruginous pubescence along the midrib and secondary veins. Small, greenish to yellowish, dioecious flowers are borne in axillary or subterminal panicles 4 to 12 centimetres long, with a six-lobed perianth and rust-coloured tomentose pedicels. The fruit is a small, ellipsoid, dark drupe seated on a shallow cup-shaped cupule, dispersed by birds.