Elaeocarpus obovatus

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Hard quandong
Elaeocarpus obovatus Gap Creek Watagan Hills.JPG
Elaeocarpus obovatus growing at Watagans National Park, Australia
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Oxalidales
Family: Elaeocarpaceae
Genus: Elaeocarpus
Species:
E. obovatus
Binomial name
Elaeocarpus obovatus
Synonyms [1]
List
Leaves and immature fruit at Mount Mellum Elaeocarpus obovata.jpg
Leaves and immature fruit at Mount Mellum

Elaeocarpus obovatus, commonly known as hard quandong, blueberry ash, whitewood, grey carabeen, freckled oliveberry or gray carrobeen, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a tree with buttress roots at the base of the trunk, egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, racemes of white flowers, and blue, oval fruit.

Contents

Description

Elaeocarpus obovatus is sometimes a small tree 3–10 m (9.8–32.8 ft) tall, and sometimes a tall tree growing to a height of 45 m (148 ft) with buttress roots at the base of a trunk that is up to 150 cm (59 in) in diameter. The outer bark is smooth, grey and thin with corky irregularities. The leaves are arranged alternately, egg-shaped to lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 40–85 mm (1.6–3.3 in) long and 14–22 mm (0.55–0.87 in) wide on a petiole 2–6 mm (0.079–0.236 in) long. The edges of the leaves are wavy, scalloped or toothed and the midrib is raised on the upper and lower surfaces. The flowers are arranged in racemes of ten to twenty 40–80 mm (1.6–3.1 in) long, each on a pedicel 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long with four or five egg-shaped to triangular sepals 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long and 1–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) wide. The petals are white, egg-shaped to oblong and about the same size as the sepals with the tip divided into eight to ten lobes and there are about twenty very short stamens. Flowering occurs from late August to October and the fruit is a oval to elliptical blue drupe about 10 mm (0.39 in) long and 8 mm (0.31 in) wide, containing a single seed. Fruiting occurs in January to April. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Taxonomy

Elaeocarpus obovatus was first formally described in 1831 by George Don in his book A General History of Dichlamydeous Plants. [6] [7]

Distribution and habitat

Hard quandong is a tall tree in subtropical rainforest and a small to medium-sized tree in drier rainforest and occurs from Proserpine, Queensland (20° S) in to central-eastern Queensland south as far as Wyong (33° S) in New South Wales. [2] [5]

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<i>Elaeocarpus eumundi</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae

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<i>Elaeocarpus williamsianus</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae

Elaeocarpus williamsianus, commonly known as hairy quandong, is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of north-eastern New South Wales. It is a small tree with lance-shaped leaves, racemes of greenish-white flowers and spherical blue fruit.

<i>Elaeocarpus culminicola</i> species of tree in the family Elaeocarpaceae

Elaeocarpus culminicola, commonly known as Michael's quandong, is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is native to parts of Malesia and Australasia. It is a tree with wavy leaves with wavy or toothed edges, racemes of white, cream-coloured or pink flowers and more or less spherical fruit.

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Elaeocarpus carolinae is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to north-east Queensland. It is a tree with buttress roots at the base of the trunk, elliptic to oblong leaves with wavy-toothed edges, flowers with five white petals with lobed tips and spherical blue to purple fruit.

Elaeocarpus elliffii, commonly known as mountain quandong, is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to north-east Queensland. It is a tree, sometimes with buttress roots at the base of the trunk, narrow egg-shaped leaves often with large domatia, flowers with five white petals with lobed tips, and more or less spherical fruit.

Elaeocarpus ferruginiflorus is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to north-east Queensland. It is a small to medium-sized tree, sometimes with buttress roots at the base of the trunk, elliptic to egg-shaped leaves, flowers with five white petals, and dark bluish-grey fruit.

Elaeocarpus foveolatus, commonly known as white quandong or northern quandong, is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a medium-sized tree, sometimes with buttress roots at the base of the trunk, variably-shaped leaves with serrated edges, flowers with five petals often with a few short lobes or teeth on the tip, and elliptic to oval fruit.

Elaeocarpus grahamii is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to north-east Queensland. It is a small to medium-sized tree, sometimes coppicing, with elliptic to egg-shaped leaves, flowers with five petals that have a frilled tip, and oval blue fruit.

Elaeocarpus johnsonii, commonly known as Kuranda quandong or Johnson's quandong, is species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to north-east Queensland. It is a small to medium-sized tree, often with several main stems, elliptic to egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, racemes of up to seven flowers, the petals with fringed lobes, and dark blue fruit.

Elaeocarpus largiflorens, commonly known as tropical quandong, is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a medium-sized to large tree, sometimes with buttress roots at the base of the trunk, mostly elliptic leaves and reddish-brown flowers.

Elaeocarpus ruminatus, commonly known as brown quandong, caloon or grey quandong, is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a tree with buttress roots at the base of the trunk, mostly more or less elliptic leaves, cream-coloured flowers with five petals that sometimes have a divided tip, and more or less spherical fruit.

Elaeocarpus sericopetalus, commonly known as hard quandong, blueberry ash, hard duandong or northern quandong, is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a tree, sometimes with buttress roots at the base of the trunk, relatively large lenticels, oblong to elliptic leaves, creamy-white flowers with five petals, and deep red to almost black fruit.

Elaeocarpus stellaris is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to north-eastern Queensland. It is a tree, sometimes with buttress roots at the base of the trunk, elliptic to egg-shaped leaves, small groups of flowers with greenish-yellow sepals and creamy-white petals, the fruit conatining a five-flanged stone.

Elaeocarpus thelmae is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to north-east Queensland. It is a tree, often with buttress roots at the base of the trunk, egg-shaped to elliptic leaves with many hairy domatia, densely rusty-hairy flowers, and blackish, oval fruit.

References

  1. 1 2 "Elaeocarpus obovatus". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Elaeocarpus obovatus". Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  3. Hyland, Bernard; Coode, Mark J. (1984). "Elaeocarpus in Australia and New Zealand". Kew Bulletin. 39 (3): 533–538.
  4. F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Elaeocarpus obovatus". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government . Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  5. 1 2 Floyd, Alexander G. (1989). Rainforest trees of mainland South-eastern Australia. Melbourne: Inkata Press. p. 116. ISBN   0909605572.
  6. "Elaeocarpus obovatus". APNI. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  7. Don, George (1831). A General History of Dichlamydeous Plants. London: J.G. and F. Rivington,1831-1838. p. 559. Retrieved 21 February 2021.