Elaeocarpus carolinae is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to north-east Queensland. It is a tree with buttress roots at the base of the trunk, elliptic to oblong leaves with wavy-toothed edges, flowers with five white petals with lobed tips and spherical blue to purple fruit.
| Elaeocarpus carolinae | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Oxalidales |
| Family: | Elaeocarpaceae |
| Genus: | Elaeocarpus |
| Species: | E. carolinae
|
| Binomial name | |
| Elaeocarpus carolinae | |
Description
editElaeocarpus carolinae is a tree that typically grows to a height or 8–24 m (26–79 ft) with buttress roots at the base of the trunk. The leaves are grouped near the ends of the twigs, elliptic to oblong with between ten and twenty-five wavy teeth on the edges, 55–100 mm (2.2–3.9 in) long and 18–26 mm (0.71–1.02 in) wide on a petiole 15–25 mm (0.59–0.98 in) long. The flowers are borne in groups of up to ten on a rachis 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) long, each flower on a winged pedicel 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long. The flowers have five narrow egg-shaped sepals 10–11 mm (0.39–0.43 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) wide. The five petals are white, narrow oblong, 10–14 mm (0.39–0.55 in) long and about 2 mm (0.079 in) wide with thin lobes at the tip, and there are fifteen or sixteen stamens. The fruit is a more or less spherical drupe about 13–15 mm (0.51–0.59 in) long and 12–14 mm (0.47–0.55 in) wide.[2][3]
Taxonomy
editElaeocarpus carolinae was first formally described in 1984 by Bernard Hyland and Mark James Elgar Coode in the Kew Bulletin from material collected in 1979.[2][4]
Distribution and habitat
editElaeocarpus carolinae is endemic to north-east Queensland, where it is only known from the Windsor Tableland growing in rainforest at altitudes of 1,000–1,200 m (3,300–3,900 ft).[2][3]
Conservation status
editThis quandong is listed as of 'least concern' under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Elaeocarpus carolinae". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ a b c Coode, M. J. E. (1984). "Elaeocarpus in Australia and New Zealand". Kew Bulletin. 39 (3): 551–553. doi:10.2307/4108594. JSTOR 4108594.
- ^ a b "Elaeocarpus carolinae". Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Elaeocarpus carolinae". APNI. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Species profile—Elaeocarpus carolinae". Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science. Retrieved 9 February 2021.