''Gillbeea'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of three species of

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

n rainforest trees from the family

Cunoniaceae Cunoniaceae is a family of 27 genera and about 335 species of woody plants in the order Oxalidales, mostly found in the tropical and wet temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere. The greatest diversity of genera are in Australia and Tasmania ...

. Botanical science has formally published , the names and descriptions of one species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and two species endemic to the Wet Tropics rainforests of northeastern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. These two Wet Tropics, NE. Qld species each only grow naturally in different tablelands rainforest regions, separated from each other for millions of years by a relatively narrow belt of drier non–rainforest landscape.

Naming and classification

In 1865, European science formally published the name and description of this genus using John Dallachy's northeastern Queensland ''Gillbeea adenopetala'' type specimen collection, authored by

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

based German–Australian botanist

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...

. Mueller named this genus after Melbourne medical doctor William Gillbee. In 1915, the species name ''Gillbeea papuana'' and description was formally scientifically published by German botanist

Rudolf Schlechter Friedrich Richard Rudolf Schlechter (16 October 1872 – 16 November 1925) was a German taxonomist, botanist, and author of several works on orchids. He went on botanical expeditions in Africa, Indonesia, New Guinea, South and Central America an ...

. In 1960, a revision of this genus and three more related genera of the family Cunoniaceae was published by

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

botanist Ruurd Dirk Hoogland. Only in the year 2000, was the species name ''Gillbeea whypallana'' and description formally scientifically published by Australian botanists Andrew C. Rozefelds and Belinda Pellow from Tasmania. In October 2013, a study was published of the

molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

and morphologies of the members of the plant tribe Geissoieae of the family Cunoniaceae, including a synopsis of its genera. Evidence was published that ''Gillbeea'' was moderately supported as an early relative of the tribe Geissoieae and the authors described the requirement for more evidence, however, before including ''Gillbeea'' in an expanded description of the tribe.

Species

Sources: * '' Gillbeea adenopetala'' Pink Alder –

Atherton Tableland The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau, which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. It has very deep, rich basaltic soils and the main industry is agriculture. The principal river flowing across the plateau is the B ...

endemic, NE. Qld, Australia endemic * '' Gillbeea papuana'' – New Guinea endemic * '' Gillbeea whypallana'' – Windsor–Carbine tablelands and

Daintree Rainforest The Daintree Rainforest, also known as the Daintree, is a region on the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about , by road, north of the city of Cairns. Whilst the terms "Daintree Rainforest" and "the Daintree" are not officially def ...

restricted endemic, NE Qld, Australia

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q8964068 Oxalidales genera