Psychotria sp. Shute Harbour (L.J.Webb+ 7916)

 Provisional HISPID phrase name.

Shrub or small tree to 5 m high; bark greyish white, blotched, finely longitudinally fissured. Buds and young stems usually sparsely hairy, stems becoming hairless.

Leaves simple, opposite or rarely in whorls of 3. Stipules interpetiolar, broad, oblong-lanceolate, united into a sheath, the tips obtuse and free, 5-10 mm long, becoming membranous and reddish brown. Petiole 4-12 mm long. Leaf blade oblanceolate to obovate or oblong-elliptic, 5-12 cm long, 1.5-5.0 cm wide, base tapered, margins entire, thickened, apex acuminate, acute or obtuse. Lateral veins 5-9 pairs. Domatia prominent as hairy tufts or pits or hairless. Both surfaces glossy and hairless or almost so. Upper surface mid to dark green, lower surface paler green.

Inflorescences terminal or axillary, dichasial cymes with several branches. Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic, 5-merous, white and shortly hairy, sessile. Calyx tubular and c. 1.5 mm long, green. Corolla 5-7 mm long, tubular with spreading to recurved lobes, tube c. 3 mm long, white. Stamens 5; ovary inferior.

Fruit fleshy, a drupe, ellipsoid, 5-7 mm diam., 4-7 mm long, white, hairy, with persistent calyx; stones or endocarp 1 or 2, each 1-seeded.

Features not available.

Occurs in CEQ near Bowen southwards to near Gympie in south eastern Queensland. Grows in monsoon forest and littoral rainforest.

This species is closely related to Psychotria daphnoides ‘Large-leaved form’, but Psychotria species 'Shute Harbour' has leaves that are hairless and glossy on both surfaces, with prominent domatia and it grows north from the Gympie district. This profile information and associated coding has been adapted from Cooper & Cooper (2004) and Harden et al. (2014

CHAH (2011), Australian Plant Census [accessed: 31-10-2016].