Schistocarpaea johnsonii F.Muell.

Mueller, F.J.H. von (1890) The Victorian Naturalist 7: 183. Type: On Mount Bartle-Frere; Stephen Johnson.

Johnson's Almond

Seldom exceeding 30 cm dbh. Faint sarsaparilla or liniment odour in the blaze.

Leaf blades abut 7.5-17 x 2-5.5 cm, much paler on the underside. Midrib depressed on the upper surface and petiole grooved on the upper surface. Stipules gradually tapering to a point at the apex. Faint liniment odour in freshly broken twigs.

Inflorescence shorter than the leaves. Calyx lobes about 3 mm long. Petals clawed, about 2.5 mm long. Stamens enveloped in the petals, anther filaments about 2 mm long, inserted outside the crenate disk.

Fruits 3-lobed, +/- turbinate, about 8 x 10 mm, lower part marked by persistent remnants of the calyx tube (hypanthium). Seeds +/- obovoid, about 7 x 4.5 mm. Cotyledons thick and fleshy.

First leaves ovate or linear-ovate. At the tenth leaf stage: leaf blade ovate, apex acuminate, base cuneate, margin toothed from base to apex; upper surface hairy at least along the midrib, petioles hairy; stipules triangular, hairy. Seed germination time 27 to 65 days.

Endemic to NEQ, restricted to the area between Cooktown and Innisfail and the southern end of the Atherton Tableland. Altitudinal range from 100-1100 m. Grows as an understory tree in well developed rain forest on a variety of sites.

Fruit eaten by King Parrots. Cooper & Cooper (1994).