Atalaya rigida S.T.Reynolds

Reynolds, S.T. (1981) Austrobaileya 1(4): 405. Type: North Kennedy District: Strathdickie North, near Proserpine, Oct 1937, K.A. Macpherson 123 (BRI holotypus, QRS isotypus).

Veiny whitewood

Small little-branched tree. Twigs and axes clothed in short simple hairs.

Leaves compound, pinnate, alternate, with 2, 4-8 or rarely 10 pairs of leaflets and no terminal leaflet; leaflet stalks 0-2 mm long, enlarged into a prominent basal pulvinule. Leaflet blades about 10-14.5 cm long, 4-7.5 cm wide leaflets broadly ovate to elliptic, glabrous, thick and leathery, shiny above, paler below; apex obtuse; base oblique; venation pinnate and prominent on both surfaces, 8-12 pairs of secondary veins; minor veins conspicuous.

Inflorescence consisting of large panicles up to 25 cm long, terminal or in upper axils. Flowers white, functionally unisexual and monoecious, however variously described in literature as:polygamous (with unisexual and bisexual flowers present); falsely polygamous (with male flowers and apparently bisexual but functionally female flowers present); and dioecious. Flowers regular or slightly zygomorphic; sepals (4) 5, 3-3.5 mm long, 2-5 mm wide, thin and hoary outside; petals (4) 5, 7-8 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, obovate, hairy outside, inner surface with bilobed scale at base without crests; disc annular; male flowers: stamens 8 with rudimentary ovary; female flowers ovary superior, 3 locular with staminodes.

Fruit dry, a schizocarp, 3-lobed, indehiscent but splitting into winged single-seeded samara-like mericarps. Each complete wing + basal seed part about 3.5-3.8 cm long. Seeds testa soft and leathery.

Features not available.

Occurs in NEQ near Cairns, and CEQ and southwards to south eastern Queensland. Altitudinal range from sea level to 500 m. Grows in open forest, dry rainforest, and semi deciduous vine thickets.

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