white quandong

Elaeocarpus kirtonii is a large and often dominant tree, typically growing to a height of 30 m (98 ft) with a diameter of about 1 m (3 ft 3 in), but sometimes to 45 m (148 ft) and 2 m (6 ft 7 in) diameter. There are buttress roots to a height of 3 m (9.8 ft) and the outer bark is silvery grey and thin, with small pustules. New growth is salmon-pink, the leaves clustered near the ends of the branchlets, narrow elliptic to narrow oblong, 70–200 mm (2.8–7.9 in) long and 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) wide on a petiole 15–50 mm (0.59–1.97 in) long. The leaves are dull green with prominent veins, regularly spaced teeth on the edges and turn red before falling. The flowers are arranged along racemes mostly 60–100 mm (2.4–3.9 in) long with between fifteen and twenty sweet-scented flowers, each on a pedicel up to 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in) long. The five sepals are very narrow egg-shaped to triangular, 5.5–6 mm (0.22–0.24 in) long and 1.5 mm (0.059 in) wide. The five petals are white, 7.5–10 mm (0.30–0.39 in) long and 2.5–3 mm (0.098–0.118 in) wide with about twenty-four linear lobes at the tip. There are between twenty-five and thirty stamens. Flowering occurs from January to March and the fruit is a pale blue, oval drupe 10–13 mm (0.39–0.51 in) long, maturing from October to January and containing a hard, sculptured stone.

Silver quandong grows from near Milton (35° S) in New South Wales to Eungella National Park (20° S) in tropical Queensland. It grows in tropical, sub-tropical and warm temperate rainforests but is often also seen in cooler and moister sites on volcanic soils and on the richer alluvial soils.