Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants - Online edition

Croton habrophyllus Airy Shaw


Shrub (woody or herbaceous, 1-6 m tall)
Tree
Click/tap on images to enlarge
Flowers. © R.L. Barrett
Flowers. © R.L. Barrett
Male flowers and female flower. © R.L. Barrett
Leaves and flowers. © R.L. Barrett
Leaves and flowers. © R.L. Barrett
Leaf margin. © R.L. Barrett
Leaf bud. © R.L. Barrett
Habit. © R.L. Barrett
Scale bar 10mm. © CSIRO
Family

Airy Shaw, H.K. (1976) Kew Bulletin 31: 386. Type: Port Darwin, Jun. 1870, Schultz 680; holo: K.

Stem

Blaze odour aromatic, somewhat spicy, like pepper.

Leaves

Leaf blades about 5.5-10 x 2.5-4.5 cm. Both the upper and lower surfaces of the leaf blade clothed in stellate hairs or scales. Two slightly stalked glands visible on the underside of the leaf blade, near the base, close to its junction with the petiole. Oil dots visible with a lens.

Flowers

Male flowers: Flowers about 3 mm diam. Outer surface of the sepals and petals clothed in stellate hairs. Petals ovate, about 3 x 2 mm. Stamens about 12-20, filaments about 1.5-2 mm long, anthers globose, about 1 x 0.8 mm. Female flowers: Flowers about 2-5 mm diam. Outer surface of the calyx clothed in stellate hairs. Calyx lobes about 1.5 x 1 mm. Petals small and inconspicuous. Style 3-branched, each branch about 1.5 mm long and ending in two stigmatic lobes.

Fruit

Fruit about 6-8 mm diam. Testa mottled in colour.

Seedlings

Features not available.

Distribution and Ecology

Endemic to Australia, occurs in WA and NT extending across the border into the Gulf Region of NEQ. Altitudinal range from near sea level to 100 m. Grows in monsoon forest and fringing forest along watercourses through open forest country.

RFK Code
913
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