Cupaniopsis wadsworthii, sometimes commonly named duckfoot,[2] or dwarf tuckeroo,[3] is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry family and is endemic to Queensland. It is a slender shrub or small tree with paripinnate leaves with two to eight broadly wedge-shaped or broadly lobed leaflets, and separate male and female flowers arranged in raceme-like thyrses, the fruit a capsule with a seed with an orange aril.
| Cupaniopsis wadsworthii | |
|---|---|
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| Leaves and fruit at Mount Archer National Park | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Sapindaceae |
| Genus: | Cupaniopsis |
| Species: | C. wadsworthii
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| Binomial name | |
| Cupaniopsis wadsworthii | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Description
editCupaniopsis wadsworthii grows as a slender shrub up to 3 m (9.8 ft) tall or a small tree up to 12 m (39 ft) tall with a dbh of up to 50 cm (20 in). The leaves are paripinnate 45–120 mm (1.8–4.7 in) long on a petiole 2–25 mm (0.079–0.984 in) long, with two to eight broadly wedge-shaped leaflets, 20–75 mm (0.79–2.95 in) long and 7–45 mm (0.28–1.77 in) wide, sometimes with two or three lobes. The leaflets form a distinctive triangular shape, broad at the tip and terminating in a point at the petiole. The flowers are borne on a raceme-like thyrse, 50–125 mm (2.0–4.9 in) long, each flower on a pedicel 1.5–4 mm (0.059–0.157 in) long. The five sepal lobes are 4 mm (0.16 in) long and hairy on the outside, the usually five petals are egg-shaped, 1.5–4.6 mm (0.059–0.181 in) long and densely hairy. Male flowers have eight stamens and female flowers have eight staminodes and an ovary with three locules. The fruit is an orange to yellow capsule with three lobes, each lobe with a glossy dark brown seed covered in a bright orange aril. Fruits ripen from October to December, attracting many birds.[2][4][5]
Taxonomy
editThis species was first formally described in 1863 by Ferdinand von Mueller, who gave it the name Harpullia wadsworthii in his Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected near Rockhampton.[6][7] In 1879, Ludwig Radlkofer transferred the species to Cupaniopsis as C. wadsworthii.[8]
Distribution and habitat
editCupaniopsis wadsworthii usually grows on hills in rocky soil in rainforests and seasonally dry rainforests at altitudes up to 740 m (2,430 ft), from Townsville to Maryborough, including on Magnetic Island, in central eastern Queensland.[2][4][5]
References
edit
- ^ a b "Cupaniopsis wadsworthii". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ a b c Reynolds, Sally T. "Cupaniopsis wadsworthii". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ "Species profile—Cupaniopsis wadsworthii". Queensland Government, Department of Education and Science. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ a b Cooper, Wendy; Cooper, William T. (June 2004). "Cupaniopsis wadsworthii (F.Muell.) Radlk.". Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia: Nokomis Editions. p. 484. ISBN 9780958174213. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 1 Jan 2014.
- ^ a b "Cupaniopsis wadsworthii". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ "Harpullia wadsworthii". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1863). Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer. p. 24. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ "Cupaniopsis wadsworthii". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 19 October 2024.