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Cupaniopsis shirleyana

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Cupaniopsis shirleyana
In the North Coast Regional Botanic Garden
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Cupaniopsis
Species:
C. shirleyana
Binomial name
Cupaniopsis shirleyana
Foliage in the ANBG

Cupaniopsis shirleyana, commonly known as wedge-leaved tuckeroo,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry family and is endemic to Queensland. It is a small tree with paripinnate leaves, usually with 6 to 14 wedge-shaped leaflets with serrated edges, and separate male and female flowers arranged in spikes, the fruit a more or less spherical orange capsule containing a seed with an orange-red aril.

Description

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Cupaniopsis shirleyana is a small tree that typically grows to a height of 10 m (33 ft), its young parts covered with soft hairs. The leaves are 45–80 mm (1.8–3.1 in) long and paripinnate with 6 to 14 wedge-shaped leaflets 80–55 mm (3.1–2.2 in) long, 8–30 mm (0.31–1.18 in) wide with a serrated edges, on a petiole 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) long. The lowermost leaflets are stipule-like. The flowers are borne in spikes 50–180 mm (2.0–7.1 in) long, and are sessile or on a pedicel up to 1 mm (0.039 in) long. The sepal lobes are 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and covered with soft hairs, the petals egg-shaped, 2 mm (0.079 in) long and wide, and hairy on the outside. The fruit is a sessile, more or less spherical drupe 15–17 mm (0.59–0.67 in) long and wide, covered with velvety hairs, and the fruit contains a seed with an orange-red aril.[2][3]

Taxonomy

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This species was first formally described in 1888 by Frederick Manson Bailey, who gave it the name Cupania shirleyana in a supplement to A Synopsis of the Queensland Flora from specimens collected near Sankey's Scrub near Brisbane.[4][5] In 1924, Ludwig Radlkofer transferred the species to Cupaniopsis as C. shirleyana.[6] The specific epithet (shirleyana) honours John Francis Shirley for his "interest in the Field Naturalist Section of the Royal Society of Queensland".[5]

Distribution and habitat

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Wedge-leaved tuckeroo grows in dry rainforest in scrubby slopes, scree slopes and rocky streams at altitudes between 60 and 550 m (200 and 1,800 ft) above sea level from near Brisbane to Curtis Island in south-eastern Queensland.[2][7]

Conservation status

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Cupaniopsis sirleyana is listed as a "vulnerable" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.[7][8]

References

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  1. ^ "Cupaniopsis shirleyana". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Reynolds, Sally T. Busby, John R.; Kodela, Phillip G. (eds.). "Cupaniopsis shirleyana". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  3. ^ Reynolds, Sally T. (1984). "Notes on Sapindaceae, III". Austrobaileya. 2 (1): 46. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Cupania shirleyana". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  5. ^ a b Bailey, Frederick Manson (1888). A Synopsis of the Queensland Flora, Supplement Two. Brisbane: James C. Beal, Government Printer. pp. 15–16. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  6. ^ "Cupaniopsis shirleyana". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Approved Conservation Advice for Cupaniopsis shirleyana (Wedge-leaf Tuckeroo)" (PDF). Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Species profile—Cupaniopsis shirleyana (wedge-leaf tuckeroo)". Queensland Government Department of Education and Science. Retrieved 9 October 2024.