Flindersia acuminata, commonly known as silver silkwood, icewood, Putt's pine, Paddy King's beech or silver maple,[2] is a species of tree that has pinnate leaves with between six and ten egg-shaped to elliptic leaflets, creamy yellow flowers arranged in panicles, and fruit studded with short, rough points.

Silver silkwood
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Flindersia
Species:
F. acuminata
Binomial name
Flindersia acuminata

Description

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Flindersia acuminata is a tree that typically grows to a height of 33 m (108 ft) and usually has pale brown bark and with its young shoots covered with small star-shaped hairs. Its leaves are pinnate, arranged alternately with between six and ten egg-shaped to elliptical leaflets mostly 50–250 mm (2.0–9.8 in) long and 13–48 mm (0.51–1.89 in) wide on petiolules 10–31 mm (0.39–1.22 in) long. The flowers are arranged in panicles 70–230 mm (2.8–9.1 in) long. The flowers have five sepals about 2 mm (0.079 in) long and five creamy yellow petals about 3 mm (0.12 in) long. Flowering occurs from November to January and the fruit is a woody capsule 90–120 mm (3.5–4.7 in) long studded with short, rough points, and separating into five at maturity, each section containing three winged seeds.[3][4]

Taxonomy

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Flindersia acuminata was first formally described in 1919 by Cyril Tenison White in the Botany Bulletin of the Queensland Department of Agriculture.[5]

Distribution and habitat

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Silver silkwood grows in rainforest at altitudes of 200 to 1,000 m (660 to 3,280 ft) from near Kuranda to Mission Beach in far north Queensland.[3][4]

Conservation status

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Flindersia acuminata is classified as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Flindersia acuminata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Species profile—Flindersia acuminata (silver silkwood)". Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b Hartley, Thomas G.; Wilson, Annette J.G. (ed.) (2013). Flora of Australia (Volume 26). Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study. p. 67. Retrieved 15 July 2020. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ a b F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Flindersia acuminata". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Flindersia acuminata". APNI. Retrieved 14 July 2020.