Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants - Online edition

Cleistanthus discolor Summerh.


Shrub (woody or herbaceous, 1-6 m tall)
Tree
Click/tap on images to enlarge
Flowers [not vouchered]. © G. Sankowsky
Fruit [not vouchered]. © G. Sankowsky
Leaves and fruit [not vouchered]. © G. Sankowsky
Underside of leaves and fruit [not vouchered]. © G. Sankowsky
Scale bar 10mm. © CSIRO
Cotyledon stage, epigeal germination. © CSIRO
10th leaf stage. © CSIRO
Family

Summerhayes, V.S. (1932) Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Kew : 144. Type: QUEENSLAND. Kuranda, North Queensland, Aug. 1927, Du Rietz 7275.

Stem

Seldom exceeding 30 cm dbh. Pink and white or cream layers in the blaze.

Leaves

Leaf blade about 8-21 x 3.5-7 cm, dull brown to dull creamy green on the underside. Numerous very fine hairs, visible with a lens, on the underside of the leaf blade. Stipules small and inconspicuous, shed early. Petiole transversely wrinkled. Pink pith visible in larger twigs.

Flowers

Flowers about 2-3 mm diam. Calyx glabrous throughout. Ovary pubescent.

Fruit

Fruit disintegrating at maturity leaving the stalk and central axis attached to the tree. Capsule (without stalk) about 9-11 mm long. Cotyledons green.

Seedlings

Cotyledons transversely elliptic to almost reniform, about 8-10 x 13-19 mm. At the tenth leaf stage: leaf blade elliptic, apex acuminate, base attenuate; stipules small and inconspicuous. Seed germination time 11 to 21 days.

Distribution and Ecology

Endemic to NEQ, restricted to the area between Cape Tribulation and Tully. Altitudinal range from 100-500 m. Grows in well developed rain forest.

RFK Code
197
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