Harpullia frutescens, commonly known as dwarf harpullia,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae, and is endemic to North Queensland. It is a shrub with paripinnate leaves with 6 to 8 leaflets, white flowers with a pink tinge, and crimson capsules containing 2 seeds with a yellow aril.
| Harpullia frutescens | |
|---|---|
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| Fruit in Tully Gorge National Park | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Sapindaceae |
| Genus: | Harpullia |
| Species: | H. frutescens
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| Binomial name | |
| Harpullia frutescens | |
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Description
editHarpullia frutescens is a shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in), its young growth covered with downy hairs. Its leaves are paripinnate, 45–185 mm (1.8–7.3 in) long with 6 to 8 elliptic to lance shaped leaflets sometimes tapering to a point, 75–170 mm (3.0–6.7 in) long and 25–50 mm (0.98–1.97 in) wide on a winged petiole 35–85 mm (1.4–3.3 in) long. The flowers are strongly perfumed, borne in clusters of mostly 2 to 4 in upper leaf axils 30–120 mm (1.2–4.7 in) long, each flower on a slender, hairy peduncle up to 5 mm (0.20 in) long. The sepals are 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) long and covered with downy hairs, the petals are white with a pink tinge, and 15–20 mm (0.59–0.79 in) long. There are 5 or 6 stamens, and the ovary covered with woolly hairs. The fruit is a laterally compressed, crimson capsule about 12–16 mm (0.47–0.63 in) long containing two shiny seeds, enclosed in a yellow, cup-shaped aril.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy
editHarpullia frutescens was first formally described in 1889 by Frederick Manson Bailey in a report on the Government Scientific Expedition to the Bellenden-Ker Range.[5][6] The specific epithet (frutescens) means "becoming bushy".[7]
Distribution and habitat
editDwarf harpullia is common in rainforest from Ayton to the Atherton Tableland area in North Queensland, usually in hilly country.[3][8]
References
edit- ^ a b "Harpullia frutescens". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ a b Reynolds, Sally T. "Harpullia frutescens". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ a b Reynolds, Sally T. (1981). "Notes on Sapindaceae in Australia, I." Austrobaileya. 1 (4): 415. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Harpullia frutescens". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Harpullia frutescens". APNI. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ Bailey, Frederick M. (1889). "Report of the government scientific expedition to the Bellenden- Ker range upon the flora and fauna of that part of the colony". Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly during the Session of 1889: 36. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ George, Alex; Sharr, Francis (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (4th ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 202. ISBN 9780958034180.
- ^ Elliot, Rodger W.; Jones, David L.; Blake, Trevor (1990). Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation: Vol. 5. Port Melbourne: Lothian Press. pp. 254–55. ISBN 0-85091-285-7.