1BBackhousia myrtifolia-Ceratopetalum apetalum Rainforest

1B Backhousia myrtifolia-Ceratopetalum apetalum Rainforest

(1B) Backhousia myrtifolia-Ceratopetalum apetalum Rainforest

Backhousia myrtifolia-Ceratopetalum apetalum (Myrtle-Coachwood) rainforest refers to the community found on sedimentary geology at lower altitudes in the Blue Mountains. It is replaced at middle and upper altitudes by Ceratopetalum apetalum-Doryphora sassafras rainforest. The two communities intergrade in the Springwood area. Backhousia myrtifolia-Ceratopetalum apetalum rainforest occurs on relatively fertile soils in sheltered, moist sites that are rarely, if ever, burnt.

Backhousia myrtifolia (Grey Myrtle) is the dominant or co-dominant tree with Ceratopetalum apetalum (Coachwood) and/or Acmena smithii (Lilly Pilly). Other trees that may be common are Acacia elata (Mountain Cedar Wattle), Callicoma serratifolia (Black Wattle) and Syncarpia glomulifera (Turpentine). Doryphora sassafras (Sassafras) is often present, but not as a dominant. The vegetation structure is usually a closed-forest or low closed-forest. There may be a layer of emergent eucalypts above the dense rainforest canopy in this community. Ferns, vines and epiphytes are usually prominent features of the community.

This community is generally characterised by the occurrence of Backhousia myrtifolia and Ceratopetalum apetalum along with the following assemblage of native plant species. Other species also occur, and not all of the following species are present in every stand of the community, but the list is indicative of the species composition of the vegetation.

| Acacia elata | Acmena smithii | Acrotriche divaricata | | Adiantum aethiopicum | Adiantum hispidulum | Allocasuarina littoralis | | Allocasuarina torulosa | Asplenium flabellifolium | Astrotricha latifolia | | Backhousia myrtifolia | Blechnum cartilagineum | Boronia fraseri | | Callicoma serratifolia | Calochlaena dubia | Ceratopetalum apetalum | | Cissus hypoglauca | Cyathea australis | Dianella caerulea | | Doodia aspera | Doryphora sassafras | Elaeocarpus reticulatus | | Entolasia stricta | Eucalyptus piperita | Lepidosperma gunnii | | Lepidosperma laterale | Lomandra longifolia | Lomandra montana | | Morinda jasminoides | Notelaea longifolia | Ozothamnus diosmifolius | | Pandorea pandorana | Parsonsia straminea | Persoonia mollis | | Pittosporum revolutum | Pittosporum undulatum | Prostanthera violacea | | Pultenaea flexilis | Pyrrosia rupestris | Rapanea variabilis | | Schoenus melanostachys | Smilax australis | Smilax glyciphylla | | Sticherus flabellatus | Syncarpia glomulifera | Tasmannia insipida | | Todea barbara | Tylophora barbata | Zieria smithii |