''Elaeocarpus johnsonii'', commonly known as Kuranda quandong or Johnson's quandong, is species of flowering plant in the family

Elaeocarpaceae Elaeocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants. The family contains approximately 615 species of trees and shrubs in 12 genera."Elaeocarpaceae" In: Klaus Kubitzki (ed.). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol. VI. Springer-Verlag: Ber ...

and is

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 ...

to north-east Queensland. It is a small to medium-sized tree, often with several main stems, elliptic to egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base,

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s of up to seven flowers, the petals with fringed lobes, and dark blue fruit.

Description

''Elaeocarpus johnsonii'' is a small to medium-sized tree typically growing to a height of , often with several

buttressed A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ag ...

trunks. Young branchlets are densely covered with woolly-brownish or velvety hairs. The leaves are mostly clustered at the ends of branchlets, hairy, elliptic to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, mostly long and wide on a

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

long. The flowers are arranged in racemes long with up to seven flowers on robust

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branch ...

long. The flowers have five narrow triangular

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 about and wide, densely hairy on the back. The five petals are about long and wide, the tips divided into two or three fringed lobes. There are between thirty and thirty-five

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s. Flowering occurs in September and the fruit is a dark blue

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

with a waxy bloom and long.

Taxonomy

''Elaeocarpus johnsonii'' was first formally described in 1893 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 the ''

Journal of Botany, British and Foreign ''Journal of Botany, British and Foreign'' is a monthly journal that was published from 1863 to 1942, and founded by Berthold Carl Seemann who was the editor until his death in 1871. It was initially published by Robert Hardwicke. Seemann himse ...

''. The authorship of ''E. johnson'' is attributed to "F.Muell. ex C.T.White" 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 ...

because White noted that he had been unable to find the place of publication.

Distribution and habitat

Kuranda quandong grows in rainforest at altitudes from and is restricted to

Thornton Peak Thornton Peak is a prominent mountain that rises above the Daintree Rainforest to a height of 1374 m. The mountain is located about 126km northwest of Cairns within the catchment of the Daintree River. It is Queensland's fourth highest pe ...

Mount Pieter Botte Mount Pieter Botte, also known as Ngalba-bulal, Alpaboolal (meaning big top), or Barbar (meaning elder sister), or Ginpure (meaning younger sister), is a mountain in the tableland region behind Cape Tribulation in Far North Queensland, Australia. ...

and

Mount Bartle Frere Mount Bartle Frere (pronunciation �mæɔnt̥ ˈbɐːɾəɫ ˈfɹɪə Ngajanji: Choorechillum) is the highest mountain in Queensland at an elevation of . The mountain was named after Sir Henry Bartle Frere, 1st Baronet, Sir Henry Bartle Frere ...

, and adjacent areas in north-east Queensland.

Ecology

Cassowaries eat fallen fruit of ''E. johnsonii'' and native rats eats the seeds.

Conservation status

This quandong is listed as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government ''

Nature Conservation Act 1992 The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota. As originally published, it prov ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15317438 johnsonii Oxalidales of Australia Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1893 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller