Acronychia acuminata T.G.Hartley

Rutaceae

Hartley, T.G. (1974) Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 55: 498. Type: Queensland, MacDowall Range between Daintree River and Bloomfield River, 16 30 S., 145 17 E., Webb & Tracey10760; holo: CANB.

Thornton Aspen

Grows into a small tree but also flowers and fruits as a shrub.

Leaf blades about 11.5-17 x 4-7 cm, petioles about 1.5-3 cm long. Lateral veins forming loops inside the blade margin. Lateral veins, about 14-18 on each side of the midrib, forming an angle of almost 90 with the midrib.

Flowers about 10 mm diam. Sepals about 1 x 0.4 mm. Petals about 4 x 1 mm, outer surface clothed in short hairs. Stamens eight, dimorphic, four long and four short. Longer stamens with hairy filaments about 3.5 mm long and anthers about 1 x 0.5 mm. Shorter stamens with hairy filaments about 2.5 mm long and globose anthers about 0.5 mm diam. Pollen white. Ovary seated on a large yellowish disk. Style about 1-2 mm long, 4-fluted.

Fruits about 14 mm diam. Seeds about 4.5 x 3 mm, testa black.

Cotyledons about 6 x 4.5 mm, margins slightly crenate, petioles about 3 mm long. Oil dots orbicular, closely spaced. First pair of leaves opposite, trifoliolate. Lateral leaflets about 3 x 2 mm. Middle leaflet about 8 x 4 mm. At the tenth leaf stage: leaves simple, leaf blade about 55 x 18 mm, petiole about 13 mm long, grooved on the upper surface. Lateral veins forming loops inside the blade margin. Seed germination time 38 to 106 days.

Endemic to NEQ, known only from collections made between the Daintree River and Bloomfield River. Altitudinal range from 300-900 m. Grows in well developed upland rain forest, windswept mountain rain forest and gallery forest.