About Gossia bidwillii (Benth.) N.Snow & Guymer
Gossia bidwillii is a medium-sized tree that typically grows 18 to 25 metres tall, with a trunk up to 20 cm in diameter. Its trunk is crooked and non-cylindrical, covered in smooth orange-brown bark marked with attractive green blotchy patterns, which gives the species its common name of Python Tree. The bark sheds in thin papery flakes. Its branchlets are smooth and brown. The leaves are opposite, simple, non-toothed, 5 to 8 cm long, and elliptic to ovate in shape, with a 3 to 6 mm long leaf stem. When viewed with a lens, oil dots are prominent, and the leaf gives off a faint eucalyptus scent. Leaf venation is clearly visible, with a raised midrib on both leaf surfaces, and an intramarginal vein running along the leaf edge. White, scented flowers develop between October and December. The fruit is a black, flattened, warty berry 6 mm in diameter, containing 3 to 5 attractively mauve-coloured seeds. The fruit matures from January to May, and is eaten by various birds including the rose-crowned fruit dove.
