Acronychia pauciflora

Few-flowered acronychia
Acronychia pauciflora in the Australian National Botanic Gardens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Acronychia
Species:
A. pauciflora
Binomial name
Acronychia pauciflora

Acronychia pauciflora, commonly known as few-flowered acronychia or soft acronychia,[2] is a species of shrub or small tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has simple, egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, greenish white flowers arranged in small groups, mostly in leaf axils and fleshy, more or less spherical fruit.

Description

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Acronychia pauciflora is a shrub or tree that typically grows to a height of 10 m (33 ft) and has wrinkled or finely scaly, creamy-fawn bark. The leaves are simple, 20–95 mm (0.79–3.74 in) long and 10–48 mm (0.39–1.89 in) wide on a petiole usually 4–14 mm (0.16–0.55 in) long. The flowers are arranged in small groups 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) long, mainly in leaf axils, each flower on a pedicel 0.5–2 mm (0.020–0.079 in) long. The four sepals are about 1 mm (0.039 in) wide, the four greenish white petals 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long, and the eight stamens alternate in length. Flowering occurs from December to July and the fruit is a fleshy drupe 7–9 mm (0.28–0.35 in) long and more or less spherical.[2][3][4][5]

Taxonomy

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Acronychia pauciflora was first formally described in 1946 by Cyril Tenison White in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland.[6][7]

Distribution and habitat

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This acronychia grows between Broad Sound in central eastern Queensland, the Richmond River in north-eastern New South Wales and as far inland as the Carnarvon Range. It grows in rainforest and in brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) scrub from sea level to an altitude of 650 m (2,130 ft).[2][3]

Conservation status

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This species is classified as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Acronychia pauciflora". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Hartley, Thomas G. (2013). Wilson, Annette J.G. (ed.). Flora of Australia (Volume 26). Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study. p. 110. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Acronychia pauciflora". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  4. ^ Hartley, Thomas G. (1974). "A revision of the genus Acronychia (Rutaceae)". Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. 55 (3): 493–495. doi:10.5962/p.324717. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  5. ^ Richards, P.G.; Harden, Gwen J. "Acronychia pauciflora". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Acronychia pauciflora". APNI. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  7. ^ White, Cyril Tenison (1946). "Contributions to the Queensland Flora, No. 9". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland. 57: 21–22. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Species profile — Acronychia pauciflora (soft acronychia)". Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science. Retrieved 4 July 2020.