''Quintinia verdonii'', commonly known as the grey possumwood, is a tree of eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is mostly found in

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 rainfores ...

s at high altitude. The range of natural distribution is between the

Barrington Tops Barrington Tops is part of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales, Australia, between Gloucester and Scone. In 1934, the area was difficult to access and was described as being "not traceable to any man-made feature". Part of the area has ...

region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and the

Blackall Range The Blackall Range is a mountain range in South East Queensland, Australia. The first European explorer in the area was Ludwig Leichhardt. It was named after Samuel Blackall, the second Governor of Queensland. The Blackall Range dominates the ...

in the state of

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_ ...

Description

The grey possumwood is a small to medium-sized tree to tall and a stem diameter of . It may be distinguished from the related possumwood (''

Quintinia sieberi ''Quintinia sieberi'', known as possumwood, is a rainforest tree of eastern Australia. It is mostly found in rainforests at high altitude. The range of natural distribution is between the Clyde River, New South Wales (35° S) and the McPherson R ...

'') by the smoother bark and the branchlets being paler. The possumwood has minute reddish

gland In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

s under the leaf where the grey possumwood has clear glands. The flowers of the possumwood are in

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s, where the grey possumwood has flowers on

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, 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 produced as the s ...

Trunk and branchlets

The trunk is mostly straight and cylindrical. The bark is smooth, pale grey and somewhat soft and corky. Small branches are fairly thick, and smooth. Branchlets have scars of fallen leaves, and the ends are the branchlets are purple or dark red.

Leaves

The leaves are alternately arranged along the stem, oval-elliptical to elliptical with a short blunt tip. The hairless and leathery leaves are long, wide on mature foliage. The upper surface is dark green, underneath a paler green. The underside of the leaves has tiny colourless glands. The leaf stalks are twisted. The lateral leaf veins are raised and conspicuous on the underside, and less conspicuous above. The veins are usually 12 to 20 in number, with an angle of 75 degrees to the midrib. Veins are mostly straight, though curved where meeting the leaf margin. The

reticulate Reticulation is a net-like pattern, arrangement, or structure. Reticulation or Reticulated may refer to: * Reticulation (single-access key), a structure of an identification tree, where there are several possible routes to a correct identificatio ...

net veins are barely noticeable on the upper side. Coppice leaves may be faintly toothed. The mature leaves are entire, not toothed.

Flowers

White, cream or yellow coloured five-petalled flowers form in the upper

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s, retrieved June 21, 2016 on a single narrow

from the months of September to November. The raceme stalk is around 3 to 4 mm in length. Petals are 2 to 3 mm long. The fruit capsule is small, hemispherical in shape, ripening from December to January.

Germination

Wind blown seeds often germinate in the form of a

hemiepiphyte A hemiepiphyte is a plant that spends part of its life cycle as an epiphyte. The seeds of primary hemiepiphytes germinate in the canopy and initially live epiphytically. They send roots downward, and these roots eventually make contact with t ...

on the trunks of rocks and tree ferns such as ''

Dicksonia antarctica ''Dicksonia antarctica'', the soft tree fern or man fern, is a species of evergreen tree fern native to eastern Australia, ranging from south-east Queensland, coastal New South Wales and Victoria to Tasmania. Anatomy and biology These ferns ...

''. As the roots of the germinating seeds are so small, care needs to be given to provide adequate moisture and protection from being buried or exposed. Due to the small size, seed regeneration requires a satisfactory substrate. It is advised to lightly cover the seeds with a seed raising potting mix. Regeneration from seeds and cuttings is not difficult.

Timber & cultivation

The soft pink timber has no particular commercial use. However, the prominent flowering display gives this plant horticultural potential. Over a hundred years ago,

Joseph Maiden Joseph Henry Maiden (25 April 1859 – 16 November 1925) was a botanist who made a major contribution to knowledge of the Australian flora, especially the genus ''Eucalyptus''. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing ...

suggested it is well suited to gardens on the Australian east coast. However, predictions of widespread horticultural plantings have not eventuated.(other publication details, included in citation)
/ref> It grows readily in soils with good drainage that retain moisture in sunny or sheltered positions. ''Quintinia verdonii'' tolerates moderate frosts.

Taxonomy and naming

The specific epithet honours the politician

George Frederic Verdon Sir George Frederic Verdon was an Australian politician and public figure who was elected a member of the legislative assembly for Williamstown in 1859. He was also general manager of the English Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank, Melbourn ...

. The plant was described by Ferdinand Mueller in 1861, from specimens collected by

Hermann Beckler Dr. Hermann Beckler (28 September 1828, in Höchstädt an der Donau – 10 December 1914, in Fischen im Allgäu) was a German doctor with an interest in botany. He went to Australia to collect specimen for Ferdinand von Mueller and served as medi ...

at the Manning and Hasting Rivers. It is sometimes referred as the smooth possumwood due to the bark, which contrasts to the rougher bark of the related possumwood.

Ecology

''Quintinia verdonii'' is host to the

leaf miner A leaf miner is any one of numerous species of insects in which the larval stage lives in, and eats, the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths (Lepidoptera), sawflies (Symphyta, the mother clade of wasps), ...

moth ''

Lyonetia lechrioscia ''Lyonetia lechrioscia'' is a moth in the family Lyonetiidae. It is known from Australia. The larvae mine the leaves of their host plants, ''Quintinia sieberi ''Quintinia sieberi'', known as possumwood, is a rainforest tree of eastern Austr ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q24896097 Trees of Australia Paracryphiales Asterids of Australia Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1861 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller