''Bowenia spectabilis'' is a species of

cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male or f ...

in the family

Stangeriaceae Stangeriaceae is the smallest family of the cycads, including only two extant genera, '' Stangeria'' and '' Bowenia'', which both have an underground stem. Taxonomy Although the family was first published by Schimper and Schenk as Stangerieae, ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Range

''Bowenia spectabilis'' is found in northeastern

from the

McIlwraith Range The McIlwraith Range is a rugged, dissected granite plateau on Cape York Peninsula of Far North Queensland, Australia. Part of the Great Dividing Range, the McIlwraith Range covers about and lies about east of the town of Coen, and nor ...

on the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

south to near Tully. It is a

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfo ...

species, growing close to streams and on sheltered slopes in lowland wet

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

forest, but also at an altitude of up to 700 metres in the Atherton Tableland.

Gallery

The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia' records that the yam-like rhizome is used for food by the Indigenous Australians. Image:Bowenia spectabilis Mossman 1.JPG, ''Bowenia spectabilis'' at Mossman Gorge, Queensland, Australia Image:Bowenia spectabilis Daintree 2.JPG, ''Bowenia spectabilis'' (typical form) in the Daintree Rainforest in northeast Queensland, Australia Image:Bowenia spectabilis Mossman 2.JPG, ''Bowenia spectabilis'' at Mossman Gorge, Queensland, Australia Image:Bowenia Lake Tinaroo 1.JPG, ''Bowenia'' Lake Tinaroo form in sclerophyll woodland near Lake Tinaroo, Atherton Tableland, far north Queensland Image:Bowenia Lake Tinaroo 2.JPG, Serrulate margin of the pinnae on a wild plant of ''Bowenia'' Lake Tinaroo form, at Lake Tinaroo, Atherton Tableland, Queensland, Australia Image:Bowenia Lake Tinaroo 3.JPG, ''Bowenia'' Lake Tinaroo form in sclerophyll woodland near Lake Tinaroo, Atherton Tableland, far north Queensland Image:Bowenia Lake Tinaroo 4.JPG, ''Bowenia'' Lake Tinaroo form in sclerophyll woodland after recent bushfire, near Lake Tinaroo, Atherton Tableland, far north Queensland Image:Bowenia Lake Tinaroo 5.JPG, ''Bowenia'' Lake Tinaroo form in sclerophyll woodland near Lake Tinaroo, Atherton Tableland, far north Queensland

References

External links

* spectabilis Endemic flora of Australia Cycadophyta of Australia Flora of Queensland Least concern flora of Australia Least concern biota of Queensland Plants described in 1863 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker {{Australia-plant-stub