''Stenocarpus cryptocarpus'', commonly known as the giant-leaved stenocarpus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to north Queensland. It is a tree with

buttress root Buttress roots also known as plank roots are large, wide roots on all sides of a shallowly rooted tree. Typically, they are found in nutrient-poor tropical forest soils that may not be very deep. They prevent the tree from falling over (hence t ...

s at the base,

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 ...

, mostly elliptical adult leaves, groups of cream-coloured flowers and narrow oblong follicles.

Description

''Stenocarpus cryptocarpus'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of up to , with a dbh of up to . It is a

canopy tree In biology, the canopy is the aboveground portion of a plant cropping or crop, formed by the collection of individual plant crowns. In forest ecology, canopy also refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crow ...

and has buttress roots at the base. The leaves of young plants are

bipinnate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

, up to long on a petiole long. Adult leaves are simple, elliptic, more or less oblong or egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, and long on a petiole long. The leaves are glossy green and covered with woolly, rust-coloured hairs when young. The flower groups are arranged in leaf axils near the ends of branches with up to 20 flowers on a

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

long. The individual flowers are cream-coloured, strongly perfumed and 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. Flowering occurs from December to April and the fruit is a narrow oblong follicle up to long.

Taxonomy

''Stenocarpus cryptocarpus'' was first formally described in 1988 by botanists Don Foreman and Bernie Hyland in the journal '' Muelleria'' from specimens collected by Hyland from North Queensland in 1969. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''cryptocarpus'') means "hidden-fruited".

Distribution and habitat

Giant leaved stenocarpus grows in rainforest at altitudes up to between

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repai ...

and Innisfail.

References

External links

*
View a map
of recorded sightings of ''Stenocarpus cryptocarpus'' 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 ...

See images
of ''Stenocarpus cryptocarpus'' on Flickriver {{Taxonbar, from=Q7607618 Flora of Queensland

cryptocarpus ''Cryptocarpus pyriformis'' which is commonly known as salt bush or monte salado is native to the Galápagos Islands as well as mainland Ecuador and Peru. It is the sole representative of the genus ''Cryptocarpus''. References {{Taxonbar, f ...

Taxa named by Bernard Hyland Taxa named by Don Foreman Plants described in 1988