''Flindersia laevicarpa'', commonly known in Australia as rose ash, scented maple or dirran maple, is a species of medium-sized to large tree in the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

and is native to Papua New Guinea, West Papua and Queensland. It has pinnate leaves with four to eight egg-shaped to elliptical leaflets, panicles of cream-coloured, yellowish, red or purple flowers and smooth woody fruit that split into five at maturity, releasing winged seeds.

Description

''Flindersia laevicarpa'' is a tree that grows to a height of . It has pinnate leaves long with four to eight egg-shaped leaflets long and wide on petiolules long. The flowers are arranged in panicles long, 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 about long and the

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s cream-coloured, yellowish, red or purple and long. Flowering occurs from January to July and the fruit is a smooth, woody capsule long that splits into five, releasing seeds that are long.

Taxonomy

''Flindersia laevicarpa'' was first formally described in 1920 by Cyril Tenison White and William Douglas Francis in the ''Botany Bulletin'' of the Queensland Department of Agriculture. In 1969, Thomas Hartley described two varieties and the name of the autonym is accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Sys ...

: * ''Flindersia laevicarpa'' var. ''heterophylla'' (originally described as ''Flindersia heterophylla'' by Merrill and Perry) has leaves usually shorter than , usually with two to four leaflets and a capsule long; * ''Flindersia laevicarpa'' var. ''laevicarpa'' has leaves , usually with four to eight leaflets and a capsule long.

Distribution and habitat

Variety ''laevicarpa'' grows in rainforest at altitudes of between and occurs from near the Daintree River to Gadgarra in far north Queensland. Variety ''heterophylla'' is found from sea level to an altitude of about between Misool Island in West Papua to

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range (Papu ...

in Papua New Guinea.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5454387 laevicarpa Sapindales of Australia Flora of Papua New Guinea Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Cyril Tenison White Plants described in 1920