Acronychia crassipetala T.G.Hartley

Rutaceae

Hartley, T.G. (1974) Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 55: 490. Type: Queensland. Cook District: Mt. Spurgeon, T.Carr (BRI, holotype).

Crater Aspen

Usually encountered as a small tree to 30 cm dbh but recorded to 40 cm dbh. Pale granular longitudinal stripes normally visible in the outer blaze.

Oil dots visible with a lens if not visible to the naked eye. Leaf blades about 6-13 x 2-5 cm. Lateral veins forming loops inside the blade margin. Petiole grooved on the upper surface.

Inflorescence about 3 cm long. Flowers about 11 mm long. Disk orange. Carpels fused at the base. Stamens eight, dimorphic, four long and four short, in one whorl, long and short stamens alternating.

Fruits depressed globular, about 20-27 mm diam., with four fissures extending from the flat apex for about half the length of the fruit. Seeds about 4 mm long.

Cotyledons about 9-12 mm long, margins finely crenate. First pair of leaves trifoliolate, leaflet margin toothed. At the tenth leaf stage: leaf blade narrowly elliptic, petiole shallowly channelled on the upper surface. Seed germination time 40 to 94 days.

Endemic to NEQ, known only from Rossville, Windsor Tableland, Mt Spurgeon and the Atherton Tableland. Altitudinal range from 850-1200 m. Grows as an understory tree in mountain rain forest. This species is probably favoured by disturbance.