Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants - Online edition

Argophyllum jagonis A.R.Bean & P.I.Forst.


Shrub (woody or herbaceous, 1-6 m tall)
Click/tap on images to enlarge
Flower [not vouchered]. © Barry Jago
Flower. © CSIRO
Scale bar 10mm. © CSIRO
10th leaf stage. © CSIRO
Cotyledon stage, epigeal germination. © CSIRO
D. flowering branchlet x0.6. E. lamina margin x2. F. hair from upper leaf surface x60. © Queensland Government
Family

Bean, A.R. & Forster, P.I. (2018) Austrobaileya 10(2): 221-222, Fig. 4D-F, Map 3. Type: "Queensland. Cook District: The Boulders, Babinda Creek, 19 August 1995, R.L. Jago 3553 (holo: BRI [2 sheets]; iso: AD, CNS, K, L, MEL, NSW, US)."

Stem

Shrub 1-3 m high. Hairs on new growth white or creamy; hairs more than 10 cm from growing point white or creamy.

Leaves

Petiole 14-24(-30) mm long; fully expanded lamina broadly-elliptic to broadly-ovate, 79-145 mm long, 40-85 mm wide, 1.3-2.5 times longer than wide; 6-9(-12) secondary veins on either side of midrib. Lamina apex usually acuminate, sometimes acute; base cuneate, not oblique. Lamina margins denticulate, with teeth all about the same size, or alternating smaller and longer teeth, 11-29 on each side of the lamina, the longer teeth 0.2-1 mm long; margins rarely entire, with teeth reduced to small glands. Upper surface of fully expanded lamina green, glabrous; hairs on developing leaves appressed, 0.5-0.7 mm long. Lower surface of lamina white, hairs dense, appressed; secondary veins white, slightly raised; tertiary veins white, ± flush with indumentum.

Flowers

Inflorescences terminal, dichasially cymose, 98-205 mm long, densely tomentose, primary axis 78-185 mm long, secondary branches 15-25 mm long; branching of inflorescence mostly dichotomous, branches spreading at 60-90° from adjacent branch; bracts narrowly-deltate, 1.5-4 mm long. Pedicels 1.3-2.5 mm long; flowering hypanthium cupular, 2.5-3.2 mm diameter. Flowers about 4 mm diam. Calyx lobes 1-1.1 mm long; petals 2.1-2.2 mm long, white to pale yellow, corolla appendages white, 1-1.3 mm long. Staminal filaments 0.8-1.1 mm long; anthers 0.5-0.6 mm long. Style 1-1.1 mm long; ovary 2-locular. Disk yellow to orange, margin lobed. Ovules numerous, more than 20.

Fruit

Fruits obconical, capsules with cupular hypanthium, 3.4-4(-5) mm long, 3.3-4 mm diameter, teeth 4, exserted. Seeds numerous, 0.4-0.5 mm long. Testa surface textured, marked by a hexagonal network of reticulations.

Seedlings

Cotyledons elliptic, about 1.5-3 x 1-2 mm. First leaf elliptic to orbicular, margin entire. Second leaf ovate to orbicular, base attenuate, margin sparsely toothed. At the tenth leaf stage: leaf blade elliptic to ovate, about 7-11 x 4-7 cm, apex apiculate, acute to acuminate, base cuneate to attenuate, margin dentate or serrate. Underside of the leaf blade densely clothed in white prostrate hairs. Petiole about 10-20 mm long. Seed germination time 28 to 153 days.

Distribution and Ecology

Endemic to NEQ, known from the Babinda - Innisfail area, the Mulgrave River and at Mt Isley, west of Edmonton. Altitudinal range from 20-120 m, to 950 m on Mt Isley. Grows as an understory plant in rainforest on steep banks of streams and slightly disturbed areas.

Synonyms

Argophyllum sp. Babinda (L.S.Smith 10213)  [Provisional HISPID Phrase Name].  Argophyllum sp. Boulders (B.Gray 6326) [Provisional HISPID Phrase Name].

RFK Code
3092
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