Dodonaea triquetra J.C.Wendl.

Sapindaceae

Wendland, J.C. (1798) Botanische Beobachtungen : 44. Type: Australia, collector unknown; lecto: B. Fide J. G. West, Brunonia 7: 51 (1984).

Hop Bush

Usually flowers and fruits as a shrub about 1-3 m tall.

Leaf blades narrowly elliptic, about 7-13 x 1-4 cm, with about 20 or more lateral veins, petioles about 0.3-0.8 cm long. Stem and petioles clothed in a mixture of short, simple hairs and stellate hairs.

Pedicels about 6-8 mm long. Tepals about 0.6-1.1 x 0.4-1 mm, apices acute. Stamens usually eight, sometimes ten, filaments about 1-1.5 mm long. Anthers linear, 3.5-4 x 0.6-0.8 mm. Ovary ovoid, about 0.9-1.5 x 0.8-1.2 mm, glabrous. Styles three, about 6-13 mm long.

Fruits 3-winged, capsule + wings about 11-18 x 11-14.5 mm. Seeds 2-3, each about 2.5-2.7 x 2.1-2.3 mm. Testa black. Embryo about 8.5 x 1.5 mm, tightly coiled with the tips of the cotyledons in the centre of the coil. Cotyledons slightly broader than the radicle. Cotyledons about 5-6 mm long, radicle about 4-4.5 mm long.

Cotyledons linear, about 23-28 x 4-5 mm, petioles about 1-2 mm long. First pair of leaves about 32 x 28 mm, base attenuate, margins coarsely lobed. At the tenth leaf stage: leaf blade about 9 x 3 cm, margin smooth or obscurely toothed towards the apex. Seed germination time 10 days.

Occurs in NEQ, south-eastern Queensland and southwards to eastern Victoria. Altitudinal range in NEQ from 850-1000 m. Usually grows in drier wet sclerophyll forest but in NEQ it may occur on the margin of mountain rain forest.

This species may have medicinal properties.

Dodonaea longipes G.Don, Gen. Hist. 1: 674(1831), Type: Australia, herbarium of G. Lambert; holo: ?. Dodonaea laurifolia Sieber ex Loudon, Hort. Brit. : 154(1830), Type: Cultivated, originally from Australia; holo: ?. Dodonaea laurina Sieber ex A.Sprengel, Syst. Veg. 16th edn , Curae Posteriores 4: 152(1827), Type: New South Wales, 1825, F. W. Sieber 272; syn: BM, FI, G, K, MEL, P, W. Dodonaea dioica DC., Mem. Soc. Phys. Geneve 1: 445(1822), Type: Locality unknown, 1861, A. Lambert; holo: G-DC.