Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants - Online edition

Psydrax attenuata (R.Br. ex Benth.) S.T.Reynolds & R.J.F.Hend.


Shrub (woody or herbaceous, 1-6 m tall)
Tree
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Scale bar 10mm. © CSIRO
Family

Reynolds, S.T. & Henderson, R.J.F. (2004) Austrobaileya 6: 857.

Stem

A small tree seldom exceeding 30 cm dbh. Sapwood surface corrugated.

Leaves

Leaf blade glabrous, about 5-5.5 x 1.5-3 cm. Stipules resinous, broad at the base but abruptly narrowed into a linear, subulate point at the apex. Domatia are foveoles with a comparatively small opening. Leaf blade rather shiny on the upper surface, rather brittle, cracking when folded. Lateral veins more or less flush with the upper surface.

Flowers

Calyx lobes very short. A distinct ring of downward pointing hairs present on the inner surface of the corolla tube at the same level as the attachment of the staminal filaments, glabrous elsewhere. Corolla about 5-9 mm long, the lobes slightly longer than the tube. Corolla lobes glabrous except for the minutely papillose margins. Anthers papillose. Stigma peltate, +/- mitriform, 2-lipped at the apex.

Fruit

Fruits about 5 mm long excluding the stalk.

Seedlings

Cotyledons linear-elliptic, about 13-16 x 3-4 mm. At the tenth leaf stage: leaf blade elliptic, apex acute or obtuse, base cuneate, glossy on the upper surface, stipules interpetiolar, triangular.

Distribution and Ecology

Endemic to Australia, occurs in WA, NT, CYP, NEQ, CEQ and southwards to south-eastern Queensland. Altitudinal range in NEQ from 500-800 m. Grows in monsoon forest and open eucalypt forest.

Natural History & Notes

A very attractive tree, easily cultivated under a variety of conditions, produces dark green glossy leaves and masses of white perfumed flowers.

Synonyms
Canthium attenuatum R.Br. ex Benth., Flora Australiensis 3: 421(1867), Type: Queensland, Sweers Island & Bentinck Island, 25-28 Nov. 1802, R. Brown 3443. Lecto: BM. Iso: BM,K,MEL.
RFK Code
1011
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