Cryptocarya pleurosperma, commonly known as poison walnut or poison laurel,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Lauraceae and is endemic to north-east Queensland. It is a tree with oblong to elliptic leaves, cream coloured, perfumed flowers, and usually spherical, ribbed, red drupes.
| Cryptocarya pleurosperma | |
|---|---|
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| Diagram of Cryptocarya pleurosperma | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Lauraceae |
| Genus: | Cryptocarya |
| Species: | C. pleurosperma
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| Binomial name | |
| Cryptocarya pleurosperma | |
Description
editCryptocarya pleurosperma is a tree that typically grows to a height of up to 30 m (98 ft), its stems sometimes buttressed. Its leaves are oblong to elliptic, 72–160 mm (2.8–6.3 in) long and 35–70 mm (1.4–2.8 in) wide, on a petiole 5–11 mm (0.20–0.43 in) long. The flowers cream-coloured and perfumed, arranged in panicles or reduced to a raceme in leaf axils shorter than the leaves. The perianth tube is 1.2–1.6 mm (0.05–0.06 in) long and 1.0–1.6 mm (0.039–0.063 in) wide, the tepals 1.7–2.9 mm (0.067–0.114 in) long and 1.0–1.6 mm (0.039–0.063 in) wide. The outer anthers are 0.6–0.8 mm (0.02–0.03 in) long and wide, the inner anthers glabrous, 0.8–0.9 mm (0.03–0.04 in) long and 0.5–0.6 mm (0.020–0.024 in) wide. Flowering occurs from January to March, and the fruit is usually a spherical, ribbed, red drupe, 41–62 mm (1.6–2.4 in) long and 27–49 mm (1.1–1.9 in) wide with cream-coloured cotyledons.[2][3]
Taxonomy
editCryptocarya pleurosperma was first formally described in 1924 by Cyril Tenison White and William Douglas Francis in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland from specimens collected by White on Mount Bellenden Ker.[4][5]
Distribution and habitat
editPoison walnut grows in rainforest at altitudes from sea level to 700 m (2,300 ft) from near the Bloomfield River to near Palmerston in north-east Queensland.[2][3]
Conservation status
editThis species of Cryptocarya is listed as "of least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Cryptocarya pleurosperma". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ a b c Le Cussan, J.; Hyland, Bernard P.M. "Cryptocarya pleurosperma". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ a b F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Cryptocarya onoprienkoana". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ "Cryptocarya pleurosperma". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ White, Cyril T.; Francis, William D. (1924). "Contributions to the Queensland Flora, No. 2". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland. 35: 77–78. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ "Species profile—Cryptocarya pleurosperma". Queensland Government Department of Education and Science. Retrieved 29 September 2024.