Nightcap Oak

About

Only recognised as a new species in 2002, Nightcap Oak is one of Australia's most significant plant discoveries: an ancient, basal member of the Proteaceae with a total wild population of around 100 trees, confined to a single creek catchment in the Nightcap Range.

How to spot it

A tall rainforest tree to 40m with pale, lichen-covered bark; seedling and coppice leaves have spiny teeth while mature leaves are untoothed, cream aniseed-scented flowers appear in clusters, and fruit are large rounded nuts with ribbed shells - found only in warm temperate rainforest gullies around Mount Nardi.

Found in

• Nightcap NP