| Queensland long pepper | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Piperales |
| Family: | Piperaceae |
| Genus: | Piper |
| Species: | P. mestonii |
| Binomial name | |
| Piper mestonii | |
| Synonyms [3] | |
| |
Piper mestonii, commonly known as Queensland long pepper or simply long pepper, is an evergreen vine in the pepper family Piperaceae native to rainforests of New Guinea and Queensland, Australia.
Piper mestonii is a root climber with a stem diameter of up to 4 cm (1.6 in), appearing glabrous but with minute hairs on most surfaces. [4] [5] The leaves are narrowly ovate to broadly ovate. They measure up to 27 cm (11 in) long by 20 cm (7.9 in) wide. [5] [6] The apex is acuminate and the base cuneate to cordate. [5] [6] There are 2 or 3 pairs of lateral veins, all of which divert from the midvein in the basal portion of the leaf. [5] [6]
This species is dioecious, meaning that functionally female and functionally male flowers are borne on separate plants. Female inflorescences are erect cylindrical spikes produced in the leaf axils or opposite to a leaf. [4] [6] They are carried on a peduncle around 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) long and measure up to 3 cm (1.2 in) long by 1 cm (0.39 in) wide. The male flowers have not been described. [5] [6]
The fruit is an infructescence, that is, a mass consisting of the combined fruit of the individual flowers in the inflorescence, like the pineapple and mulberry. It is cylindrical, tapering at the distal end, and measures up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long (up to 12 cm long in New Guinea) [6] by 1.7 cm (0.67 in) wide. When mature it is bright red and fleshy. [5] [6]
Flowering has been recorded in September [4] and April. [6] The fruits ripen between August and October. [4] [6]
In 1889 the Queensland Government sponsored an expedition to the Bellenden Ker Range with the aim of documenting as much of the natural flora and fauna as possible. It was led by the explorer and journalist Archibald Meston and he was accompanied by, among others, the Queensland colonial botanist Frederick Manson Bailey. It was during this expedition that Bailey collected specimens of this species at Harvey Creek, a tributary of the Russell River, [2] [5] and it was first described by Bailey in his contribution to the book Report of the Government Scientific Expedition to the Bellenden-Ker Range. [7] : 54
The species epithet mestonii was given by Bailey (as "mestoni") in a tribute to Meston. [4]
In New Guinea Piper mestonii is found in most parts of the island. [8] In Australia it is restricted to a vary small area of northeastern Queensland, on the eastern slopes of the Bellenden Ker Range from around Fishery Falls south to around Innisfail (approximately 40 km (25 mi) north to south). [9] It grows in well developed rainforest, often near creeks and rivers, at altitudes from near sea level to 350 m (1,150 ft). [4] [5] [6]
This species is listed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science as near threatened but no justification for the assessment is published. [1] The distribution of the species in Queensland is extremely small, which may be a factor in the assessment. As of 5 March 2023 [update] , it has not been assessed by the IUCN.
Agathis robusta, commonly known as the Queensland kauri (pine) or smooth-barked kauri, is a coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae. Although sometimes called a pine it is not a true pine, having leaves rather than needles. It has a disjunct distribution, occurring in Papua New Guinea and Queensland, Australia. Populations in Papua New Guinea may be treated as the distinct species Agathis spathulata.
Lepiderema is a genus of nine species of trees from the family Sapindaceae. As of November 2013 botanists know of seven species growing naturally in Australia and two species in New Guinea. Published botanical science provides a limited knowledge of the full range of diversity in Australia and especially in New Guinea. In New Guinea the two known species have descriptions based each on only a single type specimen collection. Therefore, collection of more specimens and more species is most likely in New Guinea. In Australia they grow in rainforests of the northern half of the east coast side of the Great Dividing Range, from northeastern New South Wales through to northeastern Queensland.
Agathis atropurpurea, commonly known as the blue kauri, and occasionally as the black kauri or purple kauri, is a species of conifer in the very ancient plant family Araucariaceae. The family was distributed almost worldwide during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but is now mostly confined to the Southern hemisphere. This species is endemic to a small part of northeastern Queensland, Australia.
Archibald Meston was an Australian politician, civil servant, journalist, naturalist and explorer.
Pseuderanthemum variabile, commonly known as pastel flower or love flower in its native range, or night and afternoon in the USA, is a small perennial herb in the family Acanthaceae which is native to Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia. It can be an unwelcome nuisance in orchid nurseries in Australia.
Dysoxylum pettigrewianum, commonly known as spur mahogany, spurwood, or Cairns satinwood, is a large tree in the family Meliaceae. It is native to the rainforests of Malesia, Papuasia and Queensland. In Queensland it occurs only in a small part of the northeast coast.
Lasjia is a genus of five species of trees of the family Proteaceae. Three species grow naturally in northeastern Queensland, Australia and two species in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Descriptively they are the tropical or northern macadamia trees group. Lasjia species characteristically branched compound inflorescences differentiate them from the Macadamia species, of Australia, which have characteristically unbranched compound inflorescences and only grow naturally about 1,000 km (620 mi) further to the south, in southern and central eastern Queensland and in northeastern New South Wales.
Citrus inodora or Microcitrus inodora, commonly known as Russell River lime or large leaf Australian wild lime, is a tree native to the Bellenden-Ker Range in northern Queensland, Australia.
Dendrobium toressae, commonly known as the sparkle orchid or mica orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with highly branched stems forming dense patches. The leaves are crowded, fleshy and dark green with a glittery surface. A single cream-coloured to pale pink flower with a yellow labellum develops in a leaf axil. It is endemic to tropical North Queensland.
Leptospermum wooroonooran, commonly known as wurunuru or mountain teatree, is a species of stunted tree that is endemic to Queensland where it grows on exposed mountain ridges. It has thin, fibrous or flaky bark, lance-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, white flowers arranged singly on short side shoots and fruit remain on the plant at maturity.
Acronychia chooreechillum, commonly known as mountain aspen, is a species of shrub or small rainforest tree that is endemic to north-eastern Queensland. It has mostly trifoliate leaves with elliptic to egg-shaped leaflets on stems that are more or less cylindrical, flowers in small groups in leaf axils and fleshy, egg-shaped or elliptical fruit.
Palaquium galactoxylum, commonly known as Cairns pencil cedar, Daintree maple or red silkwood, is a species of very large tree in the family Sapotaceae which is endemic to rainforests of New Guinea and northern Australia. It can produce spectacularly large buttress roots.
Myristica insipida, commonly known in Australia as Australian nutmeg, Queensland nutmeg or native nutmeg, is a small rainforest tree in the family Myristicaceae native to parts of Malesia, Papuasia and Australia. It is closely related to the commercially-important species of nutmeg, M. fragrans.
Hypserpa laurina is a slender twining climber in the plant family Menispermaceae. It is native to New Guinea and north eastern Queensland in Australia.
Harpullia ramiflora, commonly known as the Claudie tulipwood or Cape York tulipwood, is a tree in the Sapindaceae family native to north east Queensland, New Guinea and parts of Malesia.
Xanthophyllum octandrum, commonly known as Macintyre's boxwood, false jitta, yellow boxwood or sovereignwood, is a slow-growing tree in the milkwort family Polygalaceae which has the potential to reach thousands of years of age. It is endemic to coastal northeastern Queensland, Australia.
Selaginella brisbanensis is a plant in the spikemoss family Selaginellaceae endemic to northeastern and southeastern Queensland. It grows in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest in two very disjunct populations, one centred around Cairns and the other around Brisbane, some 1,400 km (870 mi) south. It is a terrestrial plant growing up to 20 cm (7.9 in) high.
Atractocarpus merikin, commonly known as the mountain gardenia or merikin, is a plant in the Rubiaceae family endemic to northeast Queensland.
Pittosporum ferrugineum, commonly known as the rusty pittosporum or rusty-leaved pittosporum, is an evergreen plant in the family Pittosporaceae native to Malesia, Papuasia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.
Piper fungiforme is a plant in the family Piperaceae endemic to northeast Queensland, Australia.
Data related to Piper mestonii at Wikispecies
Media related to Piper mestonii at Wikimedia Commons