Acronychia suberosa

Corky acronychia
In Coffs Harbour Botanic Garden
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Acronychia
Species:
A. suberosa
Binomial name
Acronychia suberosa
Trunk
Fruit

Acronychia suberosa, commonly known as corky acronychia,[2] is a species of small to medium-sized rainforest tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has mostly trifoliate leaves with elliptic to egg-shaped leaflets with the narrower end towards the base, small groups of cream-coloured flowers and elliptical to spherical, creamy yellow to whitish fruit.

Description

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Acronychia suberosa is a tree that typically grows to a height of 20 m (66 ft) with a stem diameter of 30 cm (12 in) and a thick, dark crown. The trunk is mostly cylindrical, but occasionally with flanges at the base and the bark is usually smooth, brown or red-brown. The leaves are trifoliate, mostly arranged in opposite pairs, the petiole 10–45 mm (0.4–2 in) long, the leaflets elliptical to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 35–85 mm (1.4–3.3 in) long and 9–30 mm (0.4–1 in) wide on a petiolule up to 10 mm (0.4 in) long. The flowers are arranged in cymes 18–35 mm (0.7–1 in) long, the individual flowers on a pedicel 1–3.5 mm (0.04–0.1 in) long. The four sepals are 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide, the four petals cream-coloured and 6–9 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long and the eight stamens alternate in length. Flowering mainly occurs in February and the fruit is a fleshy, creamy yellow to whitish, elliptical to more or less spherical drupe 12–15 mm (0.5–0.6 in) long. The fruit matures from March to June.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy

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Acronychia suberosa was first formally described in 1932 by Cyril Tenison White in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland from specimens collected in Lamington National Park in 1929.[5][6] The specific epithet suberosa means 'corky', referring to the bark on older trees.

Distribution and habitat

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Corky acronychia grows from the Richmond River, New South Wales to just over the border at the McPherson Range in southeastern Queensland at altitudes of 200–1,000 m (660–3,280 ft). The habitat is subtropical or warm temperate rainforest on basalt soils in high rainfall areas.[2][3][4]

Uses

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Food

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The fruit is edible but acidic.[7]

Horticulture

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Removal of the flesh from the seed is advised for regeneration. Around 30% of the seeds may germinate in five months.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Acronychia suberosa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Acronychia suberosa". PlantNET - NSW Flora Online. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  3. ^ a b c Floyd, A. G. (2008). Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia (2nd, Revised ed.). Lismore, New South Wales: Terania Rainforest Publishing. p. 349. ISBN 978-0-958943-67-3. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  4. ^ a b Hartley, Thomas G. (2013). Wilson, Annette J.G. (ed.). Flora of Australia (Volume 26). Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study. p. 108. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Acronychia suberosa". APNI. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  6. ^ White, Cyril T. (1932). "Two previously undescribed Rutaceae from south eastern Queensland". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland. 43: 47–48. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Food Plants International".