''Argyrodendron'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family

Malvaceae Malvaceae (), or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include Theobroma cacao, cacao, Cola (plant), cola, cotton, okra, Hibiscus sabdariffa, ...

. Species of ''Argyrodendron'' are found in Indonesia, New Guinea, the Philippines and Australia.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Argyrodendron'' are tall trees, usually with

buttress root Buttress roots, also known as plank roots or stilt roots, are large, wide roots on all sides of a shallowly rooted tree. Typically, they are found in nutrient-poor tropical forest soils that may not be very deep. They may prevent the tree from fa ...

s, the new growth and leaves often covered with shield-shaped scales. The leaves are usually

palmately compound A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, fl ...

with 3 to 9 leaflets. The flowers are arranged in

panicle In botany, 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 p ...

s in leaf axils with either male or female flowers. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s are cup-shaped with 5 lobes and white or cream-coloured, but there are no petals. Female flowers have 3 to 5

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

carpels Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ...

each with a single

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the sporangium, megasporangium), ...

, joined styles and 15

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co ...

s at the base. The fruit is a winged

samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

with a more or less spherical

nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed * Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to: A ...

at the base.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Argyrodendron'' was first formally described in 1858 by

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 ...

in his ''

Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae ''Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae'' is a series of papers written by the Victorian Government botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in which he published many of his approximately 2000 descriptions of new taxa of Australian plants. Including the p ...

'' and the first species he described (the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

) was ''A. trifoliatum''. The genus name is derived from ancient Greek ''argros'' meaning "silver" and ''dendron'' meaning "a tree", referring to the silvery underside of the leaves.

Species list

The following species of ''Argyrodendron'' are accepted by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

as at June 2024: *''

Argyrodendron actinophyllum ''Argyrodendron actinophyllum'', commonly known as black booyong, black jack, stave wood, Mackay tulip oak, crowsfoot elm, booyong, tulip oak or blush tulip oak, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to eastern ...

'' (F.Muell.)

Edlin Edlin is a line editor, and the only text editor provided with early versions of IBM PC DOS, MS-DOS and OS/2. Although superseded in MS-DOS 5.0 and later by the full-screen MS-DOS Editor, and by Notepad in Microsoft Windows, it continued to b ...

*'' Argyrodendron peralatum'' (F.M.Bailey) Edlin ex I.H.Boas *'' Argyrodendron polyandrum'' L.S.Sm. *'' Argyrodendron trifoliolatum'' F.Muell. Image:Argyrodendron actinophyllum and Argyrodendron trifoliolatum - Toonumbar National Park.jpg, '' A. actinophyllum'' (Black Booyong) and '' A. trifoliolatum'' (White Booyong) -

Toonumbar National Park The Toonumbar National Park is a protected national park located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The park is situated approximately north of Sydney, near the town of . The park is part of the Focal Peak Group Wor ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4789964 Sterculioideae Malvaceae genera Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller