''Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia'' is a small tree in the family

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...

. Common names include red bopple nut, monkey nut, red nut, beef nut, rose nut and ivory silky oak. The tree produces fleshy, red fruits during spring and summer. The rare species is native to subtropical

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

in parts of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The seeds are edible.

Description

''Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia'' is encountered as a tree to in height, with a maximum trunk diameter of . It may have additional stems rising from the base and suckers after being cleared. Its large compound leaves are

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...

and measure from long. There may be 15 to 25 individual leaflets, which measure around long and wide. The leaf margins are lined with fine teeth. New growth is covered with fine rusty hair, as are the inflorescences that emerge in winter and spring (August to October). The flower spikes droop around in length and are shades of purple and brown and cream. They have a strong sweet smell, described as sickly by some. They are followed in spring and summer by a red fleshy oval fruit, long, wide. The black seed is within the fruit, which does not fall away. Seedling

Taxonomy

''Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia'' was first described by German-Australian botanist

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 1883 from a collection near the Tweed River in northern New South Wales.

Distribution and habitat

''Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia'' is found in (and on the margins of) subtropical rain forest from

Tamborine Mountain Tamborine Mountain, also known simply as Mount Tamborine, is a plateau, geographic subregion and locality in the Scenic Rim Region of Queensland, Australia. In the , Tamborine Mountain had a population of 8,105 people. Geography The plate ...

in the southeastern corner of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

to the Nambucca Valley in on the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

mid-north coast. It is a component of the

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...

Uses

The seed is edible, though not as valued as that of its relative the

macadamia ''Macadamia'' is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia—specifically, northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland. Two species of the genus are comm ...

. It is not commercially cultivated but is sometimes grown as an ornamental tree. It can be difficult to establish in the garden. Germination from fresh seed is reliable with a high percentage of success. However, many juveniles soon die of fungal disease.

Alexander Floyd Alexander Geoffrey Floyd (1 April 1926 – 12 December 2022) was an Australian botanist with an expert knowledge of rainforest plants, particularly the rainforest trees of New South Wales. He has worked with the New South Wales Forestry Commis ...

recommends adding original leaf litter from beneath the parent tree to promote beneficial anti-fungal micro-organisms.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5751425 Macadamieae Proteales of Australia Trees of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Ornamental trees Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Edible nuts and seeds