Atractocarpus hirtus

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Hairy gardenia
Atractocarpus hirtus 324148545.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Atractocarpus
Species:
A. hirtus
Binomial name
Atractocarpus hirtus
Atractocarpus-hirtus-distribution-map.png
Synonyms [4]
  • Gardenia hirtaF.Muell.
  • Randia hirta(F.Muell.) F.Muell.
  • Rothmannia hirta(F.Muell.) Fagerl.

Atractocarpus hirtus, commonly known as the hairy gardenia or native loquat, [5] [2] is a plant in the coffee family Rubiaceae, a large family of some 6,500 species with a cosmopolitan distribution. [6] This species is endemic to northeastern Queensland, Australia. [5]

Contents

Description

The hairy gardenia is a straggly, woody, rainforest shrub growing up to 4 or 5 m (13 or 16 ft) tall. [7] The stems, leaves and fruits are densely covered in soft hairs, hence the common name. Stipules are present and are around 13 mm (0.51 in) long. [5] The lanceolate leaves are simple and opposite or 3-4 whorled, measuring around 18 cm (7.1 in) long by 5 cm (2.0 in) wide, dark green, and have between 11 and 14 lateral veins on either side of the midrib. [5] [7] [8]

Flowers are pentamerous and actinomorphic, quite fragrant and borne in small terminal groups. [7] The green calyx tube is about 30 mm (1.2 in) long with lobes reduced to small teeth. [5] The corolla is white, the corolla tube is 25–30 mm (0.98–1.18 in) long with five lobes (petals) measuring 20–30 mm (0.79–1.18 in) in length. [5] The anthers, which do not extend beyond the corolla tube, measure about 6–9 mm (0.24–0.35 in) long; the pistil about 20–25 mm (0.79–0.98 in) long. [5]

This species is gynodioecious, that is, individual plants are either female or hermaphroditic. [9]

The fruits of this plant are a densely hairy drupe, somewhat pear-shaped and measuring about 20 mm (0.79 in) in diameter by 30 to 50 mm (1.2 to 2.0 in) long, including the attached calyx tube. [5] [8] The body of the fruit is orange and the calyx tube is green. They contain numerous seeds about 7 mm (0.28 in) long immersed in an orange pulp. [5] [8]

Flowering occurs from May to November, and fruits ripen from December to August. [8]

Taxonomy

Atractocarpus hirtus was first described as Gardenia hirta in 1869 by Ferdinand von Mueller in his work Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae (vol. 7), [10] from a specimen collected in 1867 by John Dallachy near the Tully River (then known as the Mackay River). [5] Mueller later transferred it to the genus Randia in his publication Systematic Census of Australian Plants of 1882. [11]

In a 1999 revision of the Australian species of Gardenia and Randia, published in Australian Systematic Botany , the Australian botanist C.F. Puttock reassigned this species and gave it the current combination Atractocarpus hirtus. [9]

Etymology

The genus name Atractocarpus is derived from the Ancient Greek terms átraktos , meaning "spindle", and karpós meaning "fruit", and refers to the spindle-shaped fruit of the type species. The species epithet hirtus is a Latin word meaning "hairy". [8]

Distribution and habitat

This species is endemic to a small part of the World Heritage listed Wet Tropics of Queensland, with a range extending from Cape Tribulation in the north to Hinchinbrook Island in the south. The altitudinal range is from sea level to around 1,000 m (3,300 ft). [5] [8]

Conservation

Atractocarpus hirtus is listed as least concern by both the IUCN and the Queensland Government's Department of Environment and Science. [1] [2]

References

  1. 1 2 IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group & Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). (2021). "Atractocarpus hirtus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T192498163A192498165. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T192498163A192498165.en . Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Species profile—Atractocarpus hirtus". Queensland Department of Environment and Science. Queensland Government . Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  3. ↑ "Atractocarpus hirtus". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government . Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Atractocarpus hirtus". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Atractocarpus hirtus". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government . Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "Rubiaceae". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government . Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 Jones, David L. (1986). Rainforest Plants of Australia. Bowgowlah, NSW, Australia: Reed Books. p. 94. ISBN   0 7301 0381 1. Randia hirta
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cooper, Wendy; Cooper, William T. (June 2004). Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia: Nokomis Editions. p. 435. ISBN   978-0-9581742-1-3 . Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  9. 1 2 Puttock, C.F.; Quinn, C.J. (1999). "Generic concepts in Australian Gardenieae (Rubiaceae): a cladistic approach" . Australian Systematic Botany . 12 (2): 181–199. doi:10.1071/SB98001 . Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  10. ↑ von Mueller, Ferdinand. "v.7 1869-71 - Fragmenta phytographiæ Australiæ". Biodiversity Heritage Library. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  11. ↑ von Mueller, Ferdinand. "Systematic Census of Australian Plants". Biodiversity Heritage Library . p. 74. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
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