Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

Common name: corkwood, eye opening tree, poisonous corkwood, poison corkwood, yellow basswood

Family: Solanaceae (Potato)

Distribution: North Coast, Central Coast, South Coast, Northern Tablelands, Queensland, New Caledonia

IUCN Red list: Least Concern

Life form: Evergreen shrub/sub-shrub

Comments: Queensland and New South Wales, Australia and New Caledonia. Occurs in coastal districts and the adjacent ranges and tablelands, in high rainfall areas, mostly on rainforest margins and regrowth, up to 1000 m altitude. Aborigines used the alkaloid rich sap as an intoxicant and to stupefy fish. The leaves are harvested and exported as a source of hyoscine used to make drugs to treat abnormal heart rates and for use in general anaesthetics and sedatives. Poisonous if eaten.