Acronychia aberrans T.G.Hartley

Rutaceae

Hartley, T.G. (1974) Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 55: 518. Type: Atherton Tableland, Forest Reserve 310, Hyland 998 (BRI, holotype).

Plasticine Tree; Plasticene Aspen; Acid Berry; Lemon Aspen

Blaze odour may resemble that of mango (Mangifera indica) or carrots (Daucus carota).

Oil dots quite numerous, closely spaced. Leaf blades about 13-28 x 5.6-15 cm. Lateral veins forming fairly definite loops inside the blade margin. Leafy twigs tending to be square in cross section like a cylinder of plasticine which has been squeezed at a number of points between finger and thumb, each squeeze being at right angles to the previous one.

Inflorescence usually more than 2 cm long. Disk orange. Flowers about 8 mm long. Stamens eight, dimorphic, four long and four short, in one whorl, long and short stamens alternating.

Fruits +/- globular, about 30-35 mm diam. Seeds about 6-7 mm long.

Cotyledons about 12-15 mm long, margins toothed. At first leaf stage leaves trifoliolate, 1 or 2 pairs produced before simple leaves. At the tenth leaf stage: petiole channelled or flat on the upper surface, semicircular below. Seed germination time 190 days.

Endemic to NEQ, restricted to the Windsor Tableland, the Mt Spurgeon-Mt Lewis area and the Boonjee area. Altitudinal range from 700-1400 m. Grows in well developed upland and mountain rain forest.