''Syzygium hemilamprum'', commonly known as the broad-leaved lilly pilly, blush satinash, cassowary gum, Eungella gum, and treated as ''Acmena hemilampra'' in New South Wales and Queensland, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...

and is native to New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory. It is a rainforest tree with broadly lance-shaped to elliptic leaves,

panicle In botany, 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 p ...

s of white flowers and more or less spherical white fruit.

Description

''Syzygium hemilamprum'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of with a

diameter at breast height Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements. Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast, ...

of up to . The trunk is flanged or buttressed in larger trees, and has fissured and flaky reddish-brown bark. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, broadly lance-shaped to elliptic, long and wide on a petiole long. The leaves are glossy and more or less

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

on the upper surface and paler below. The flowers are arranged in panicles on the ends of branchlets, each flower on a pedicel 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 are joined at the base forming a tube about in diameter, the sepal lobes small and inconspicuous. The petals are more or less circular, long and the

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s long. Flowering occurs from October to November and the fruit is white and more less spherical, in diameter.

Taxonomy

This lilly pilly was first formally described in 1875 by

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 ...

and given the name ''Eugenia hemilampra'' in ''

Flora Australiensis ''Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory'', more commonly referred to as ''Flora Australiensis'', and also known by its standard abbreviation ''Fl. Austral.'', is a seven-volume Flora of Australia published b ...

''. In the same publication, von Mueller also gave it the alternative name ''Eugenia smithii'' var. ''hemilampra'' and both names are validly published. In 1938,

Elmer Drew Merrill Elmer Drew Merrill (October 15, 1876 – February 25, 1956) was an American botanist and taxonomist. He spent more than twenty years in the Philippines where he became a recognized authority on the flora of the Asia-Pacific region. Through ...

and Lily May Perry changed the name ''E. hemilampra'' to ''Acmena hemilampra'' in the '' Journal of the Arnold Arboretum'', and the name ''Acmena hemilampra'' Merr. & L.M.Perry is the name used by the National Herbarium of New South Wales. Then in 2006,

Lyndley Craven Lyndley Alan Craven (3 September 1945 – 11 July 2014) was a botanist who became the Principal Research Scientist of the Australian National Herbarium. Lyndley ("Lyn") Craven worked for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organ ...

and Edward Sturt Biffin changed von Mueller's ''E. hemilampra'' to ''Syzygium hemilamprum'' in the journal '' Blumea''. The name ''Syzygium hemilamprum'' 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 ...

Distribution and habitat

Often seen on sand by the sea in

littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

rainforests, it reaches its best development in the red/brown volcanic soils, such as around the Mount Warning

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

. The natural range of distribution is from Yamba to

Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...

in the far north eastern tip 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 ...

. Removal of the flesh from the seed is advised to assist seed germination. Germination is slow, taking up to 80 days. However, cuttings strike well.

References

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(other publication details, included in citation)
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15383267, from2=Q4674413 hemilamprum Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of the Northern Territory Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller