''Elaeocarpus largiflorens'', commonly known as tropical quandong,
is a species of flowering plant in the family
Elaeocarpaceae and is
endemic to
Queensland. It is a medium-sized to large tree, sometimes with
buttress roots at the base of the trunk, mostly elliptic leaves and reddish-brown flowers.
Description
''Elaeocarpus largiflorens'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of , sometimes with buttress roots at the base of the trunk. Its young leaves and shoots are densely covered with short, reddish-brown hairs. The leaves are elliptic, long and wide on a
petiole long. The flowers are borne in groups of up to about twenty on a
rachis long, each flower on a
pedicel
Pedicle or pedicel may refer to:
Human anatomy
*Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures
...
long. The flowers are densely covered with reddish-brown hairs. The five
sepals are egg-shaped, long and wide, the five petals oblong, long and wide. Between sixty and seventy
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s are crowded around and obscuring the
ovary
The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...
. Flowering occurs from January to March and the fruit is an oval
drupe
In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...
long and wide, present from September to December.
Taxonomy
''Elaeocarpus largiflorens'' was first formally described in 1933 by
Cyril Tenison White in ''Contributions from the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University'' from material he collected near
Malanda
Malanda is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Malanda had a population of 1,985 people. The economy is based upon agriculture (particularly dairy) and tourism.
Geography
Malan ...
in 1923.
In 1984,
Mark James Elgar Coode described two subspecies in the journal ''
Kew Bulletin'' and the names are accepted by the
Australian Plant Census:
* ''Elaeocarpus largiflorens''
C.T.White subsp. ''largiflorens''
has its main leaf veins in an even curve;
* ''Elaeocarpus largiflorens'' subsp. ''retinervis''
B.Hyland
Bernard Hyland (Bernard Patrick Matthew Hyland, born 1937), known as Bernie Hyland, is an Australian botanist.
He has contributed significantly to the understanding of Australian plants, in particular numerous species of his home and workplace ...
& Coode has zig-zagged main leaf veins.
Distribution and habitat
''Elaeocarpus largiflorens'' grows in rainforest at altitudes up to in north-east and central-eastern Queensland. Subspecies ''retinervis'' is restricted to the
Mount Spurgeon
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
-
Mount Lewis area.
Conservation status
Both subspecies of ''E. largiflorens'' are listed as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government ''
Nature Conservation Act 1992''.
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15317396, from2=Q65260941, from3=Q43294547
largiflorens
Oxalidales of Australia
Flora of Queensland
Plants described in 1933
Endemic flora of Australia
Taxa named by Cyril Tenison White