''Argophyllum nullumense'', the silver leaf, is a shrub or small tree found in eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. A rare plant with a ROTAP rating of 3RCa The generic name comes from the Greek, meaning "bright leaf", referring to the silvery white under-side of the leaves. The original specimen was collected from Mount Nullum, near Murwillumbah. It grows from near Nimbin in the south to Mackay, Queensland. Most often seen on the Mount Warning

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

, growing in warm temperate rainforest based on the relatively infertile

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The mineral ...

based soils. Growing to 8 metres tall and a stem diameter of 15 cm. The plant often branches close to the ground. Yellow flowers form on terminal

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s from December to January. The fruiting capsule matures from May to September. Around 30 very small seeds per capsule. Germination from fresh seed is relatively swift and reliable. The species was first described in 1899 by Richard Thomas Baker.

References

Argophyllaceae Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Richard Thomas Baker Plants described in 1899 {{Asterales-stub