''Noadendron'' is a monotypic genus - i.e. a genus containing only one species - of plants in the witch-hazel family

Hamamelidaceae Hamamelidaceae, commonly referred to as the witch-hazel family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales. The clade consists of shrubs and small trees positioned within the woody clade of the core Saxifragales. An earlier system ...

. It is the third described of three monotypic Australian genera in this family, the others being '' Ostrearia'' and ''

Neostrearia ''Neostrearia'' is a monotypic genus - i.e. a genus containing only one species - of plants in the witch-hazel family Hamamelidaceae. It is the second described of three monotypic Australian genera in this family, the others being '' Ostrearia' ...

''. It is most closely related to these genera, as well as ''

Trichocladus ''Trichocladus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, consisting of shrubs or small trees. The distinguishing features of the genus ''Trichocladus'' are as follows: *Branches and leaves are often covered in dense, velvet-l ...

'' (4 species) from southern Africa and '' Dicoryphe'' (13 species) from Madagascar, and together these five genera form a distinct clade within Hamamelidaceae. The sole species in this genus is ''Noahdendron nicholasii'', commonly known as noahdendron, was described in 1985 and is endemic to the rainforests of northeastern Queensland, Australia.

Description

''Noahdendron nicholasii'' is a small tree growing to about tall. The

simple Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by John ...

leaves are

oblong An oblong is an object longer than it is wide, especially a non-square rectangle. Oblong may also refer to: Places * Oblong, Illinois, a village in the United States * Oblong Township, Crawford County, Illinois, United States * A strip of land ...

elliptic In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special type of ellipse in ...

and measure up to long by wide. The

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...

s are large and leaf-like (), about long, wide and

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe * Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd * Vates or ovate, a term for ancient Celtic bards ...

. 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 branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is (i.e. it is produced from the very end of the branch) and it takes the form of a

spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (Broderick book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter ...

. It is about long, bearing numerous small

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 ...

flowers. The are brown, the petals are purple, pink or red and about long. The fruit is a small, brown, 2-lobed, woody capsule, densely covered in fine brown hairs, each lobe containing a brown seed about long.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by the Swiss botanist Peter Karl Endress, working with the Australian botanists

Bernard 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 ...

and John Geoffrey Tracey. Their description was based on material collected separately by Tracey and Hyland from Noah Creek near

Cape Tribulation Cape Tribulation is a headland and coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas in northern Queensland, Australia. In the , Cape Tribulation had a population of 123 people. Geography The locality is north of Cairns. It is within the Daintree N ...

, and their work was published in the journal ''Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie'' in 1985.

Etymology

The genus name ''Noahdendron'' is from the location where the plant grows, Noah Creek, combined with the Ancient Greek word ''δένδρον'' (dendron), meaning tree. The

species epithet Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany) ...

''nicholasii'' is for John Nicholas, a local resident who was involved in the discovery of the plant.

Distribution and habitat

Noahdendron is entirely restricted to a single catchment in the

Daintree National Park The Daintree National Park is located in Far North Queensland, Australia, northwest of Brisbane and northwest of Cairns. It was founded in 1981 and is part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland. In 1988, it became a World Heritage Site. The park co ...

. Noah Creek is about south of

, and it is within this watershed that the species occurs. The altitudinal range of the plant is from sea level to , and the area of occupancy is just .

Conservation

This species is listed by the Queensland Government's Department of Environment, Science and Innovation as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

. , it has not been assessed by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN).

Gallery

File:Noadendron-nicholasii-SF21171-1.jpg, Habit File:Noadendron-nicholasii-SF24054-04.jpg, Foliose stipules File:Noadendron-nicholasii-SF21171-2.jpg, Flower budding File:Noadendron-nicholasii-SF21195-2.jpg, Inflorescence File:Noadendron-nicholasii-SF21195-4.jpg, In flower

References

Notes

External links

View a map
of herbarium records of this species at the

Australasian Virtual Herbarium The ''Australasian Virtual Herbarium'' (AVH) is an online resource that allows access to plant specimen data held by various Australian and New Zealand herbaria. It is part of the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), and was formed by the amalgama ...

View observations
of this species on

iNaturalist iNaturalist is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe. iNaturalist may be accessed via its web ...

View images
of this species on Flickriver {{Taxonbar, from1=Q10337171, from2=Q17777143 Hamamelidaceae genera Endemic flora of Queensland Monotypic Saxifragales genera Plants described in 1985 Taxa named by Bernard Hyland Hamamelidaceae