Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa

Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Rhodomyrtus
Species:	R. macrocarpa
Binomial name
	Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa; Benth. [1]

Last updated May 05, 2019

Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa is a species of the botanical family Myrtaceae. It grows into a tree, native to north-east Australia, New Guinea and the Aru Islands,^[2] and is also known as wannakai, finger cherry, or Cooktown loquat.

Myrtaceae or the myrtle family is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pohutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All species are woody, contain essential oils, and have flower parts in multiples of four or five. The leaves are evergreen, alternate to mostly opposite, simple, and usually entire. The flowers have a base number of five petals, though in several genera the petals are minute or absent. The stamens are usually very conspicuous, brightly coloured and numerous.

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

New Guinea is a large island separated by a shallow sea from the rest of the Australian continent. It is the world's second-largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 785,753 km² (303,381 sq mi), and the largest wholly or partly within the Southern Hemisphere and Oceania.

In Australia, botanical sources describe it as occurring naturally from coastal central Queensland to the Wet Tropics, where it extends up to 800m above sea level, and through to Cape York Peninsula. It grows in complex wet rainforests, although it is more common in drier, more seasonal kinds, and in monsoon forests.^[2]

Queensland is the second-largest and third-most populous state in the Commonwealth of Australia. Situated in the north-east of the country, it is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. To its north is the Torres Strait, with Papua New Guinea located less than 200 km across it from the mainland. The state is the world's sixth-largest sub-national entity, with an area of 1,852,642 square kilometres (715,309 sq mi).

The Queensland tropical rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion located in northeastern Australia and belonging to the Australasian ecozone. The forest contains the world's best living record of the major stages in the evolutionary history of the world’s land plants. The history of the evolution of marsupials and songbirds is also well represented.

Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia. The land is mostly flat and about half of the area is used for grazing cattle. The relatively undisturbed eucalyptus-wooded savannahs, tropical rainforests and other types of habitat are now recognized and preserved for their global environmental significance, but native wildlife is threatened by introduced species and weeds. In 1606, Dutch sailor Willem Janszoon on board the Duyfken reached Australia as its first known European explorer, discovering the Cape York Peninsula.

It is sometimes cultivated for its ornamental flowers and bright red fruit. However the fruit is poisonous, especially so to children,^[2] and has been known to cause permanent blindness.

Related Research Articles

Austrobaileya is the sole genus consisting of a single species that constitutes the entire flowering plant family Austrobaileyaceae. The species Austrobaileya scandens grows naturally only in the Wet Tropics rainforests of north eastern Queensland, Australia.

Sankowskya is a genus of plants. The sole known species, Sankowskya stipularis, is a tree found only (endemic) in one locality in the Wet Tropics rainforests of north eastern Queensland, Australia. The species constitutes part of the plant family Picrodendraceae. Few botanical collections have ever been made of the trees, from a very restricted area of the Wet Tropics rainforests, hence the species has obtained the conservation status of "endangered" in the legislative regulation of the Queensland Government's Nature Conservation Act 1992. Notably, trees grow naturally in the Thylogale Nature Refuge.

Castanospora is a monotypic genus of trees, constituting part of the plant family Sapindaceae. The sole species Castanospora alphandii, commonly known as brown tamarind, grows naturally in the Australian rainforests of north-eastern New South Wales and eastern Queensland as far north as the Wet Tropics rainforests of north-eastern Queensland.

Austromuellera is a genus of only two known species of medium-sized trees, constituting part of the plant family Proteaceae.

<i>Eupomatia laurina</i> species of plant

Eupomatia laurina, commonly named bolwarra or sometimes native guava or copper laurel, is a species of shrubs to small trees, of the Australian continent ancient plant family Eupomatiaceae. They often grow between 3 and 5 m tall, larger specimens may attain 15 m (50 ft) and a trunk diameter of 30 cm (12 in). They grow naturally in eastern Australia and New Guinea. In Australia, they grow as far south as Nowa Nowa in the humid forests of the warm temperate east of the state of Victoria through eastern New South Wales and Queensland north to tropical Cape York Peninsula. They are one of the ancient lineages of flowering plants, usually growing as part of an understorey in rainforests or humid Eucalypt forests.

Romnalda is a genus of monocotyledonous plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Lomandroideae. As of December 2013 four formally named species are known and accepted by botanical science.

Buckinghamia is a genus of only two known species of trees, belonging to the plant family Proteaceae. They grow naturally only (endemic) in the rainforests of the wet tropics region of north eastern Queensland, Australia. The ivory curl flower, B. celsissima, is the well known, popular and widely cultivated species in gardens and parks, in eastern and southern mainland Australia, and additionally as street trees north from about Brisbane. The second species, B. ferruginiflora, was only recently described in 1988.

Storckiella is a genus of four recognised species of trees, of the legume plant family Fabaceae. They grow naturally in New Caledonia, Fiji and Australia.

Cryptocarya triplinervis is a rainforest tree growing in eastern Australia. Common names include the three veined laurel, three veined cryptocarya and the brown laurel.

Stenocarpus cryptocarpus, known as the giant leaf stenocarpus, is a species of trees, of the plant family Proteaceae. They grow naturally only (endemic) in some rainforest parts of the wet tropics region of north eastern Queensland, Australia. Notably, juvenile leaves of young trees may reach 115 cm (4 ft) in length.

Hedraianthera is a genus of a sole recognised species of shrubs or small trees found only in Australia. The genus and species constitutes part of the plant family Celastraceae.

Lophostemon suaveolens is a tree species, also known as swamp mahogany, swamp box or swamp turpentine, of the botanical family Myrtaceae.

Ehretia saligna, commonly known as peach bush, native willow and peachwood is a species of shrubs or small trees, endemic to Northern Australia. The natural range extends from the Gascoyne, across the Northern Territory throughout northern Queensland and coastal; regions of Southern Queensland and New South Wales.

Tabernaemontana pandacaqui is a species of plant in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, known as windmill bush and banana bush. It grows as a shrub or tree up to 14 m (46 ft) tall. Its flowers feature white or pale yellow corolla lobes. The fruit is orange, red or yellow with paired follicles, each up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter. The plant is found in a wide variety of habitats, particularly in drier areas. It is native to China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia and many Pacific islands. The species is also reportedly naturalized in the Windward Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and Panama.

Dillenia alata, commonly known as red beech or golden guinea tree, is a rainforest tree in the Dilleniaceae family, found in northern Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands. It is a medium-sized tree with reddish-brown papery bark. The leaves are 11–23 mm long and 6–13 mm wide and connected to the stem by a stem-clasping winged petiole. The five-petalled yellow flowers have a cluster of pink or red styles, anthers and staminoides at the centre.

Canarium muelleri, commonly named scrub turpentine or mangobark, is a species of Australian rainforest trees, of the plant family Burseraceae. They grow naturally only (endemic) in north eastern Queensland, widespread in the rainforests of the Wet Tropics region, and further south to the Conway Range area, near Proserpine, Queensland.

Helicia blakei, also named Blake's silky oak, is a species of rainforest trees, of north–eastern Queensland, Australia, and constitutes part of the flowering plant family Proteaceae.

Helicia nortoniana, also named Norton's silky oak, is a species of rainforest trees, of north–eastern Queensland, Australia, and constitutes part of the flowering plant family Proteaceae.

Gillbeea is a genus of three species known to science, of Australasian rainforest trees, constituting part of the plant family Cunoniaceae.

Hollandaea diabolica is a species of Australian rainforest trees, constituting part of the plant family Proteaceae.

References

↑ "Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa Benth". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
1 2 3 Hyland, B. P. M.; Whiffin, T.; Zich, F. A.; et al. (Dec 2010). "Factsheet – Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants. Edition 6.1, online version [RFK 6.1]. Cairns, Australia: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), through its Division of Plant Industry; the Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research; the Australian Tropical Herbarium, James Cook University. Retrieved 16 Mar 2013.

Shepherd, R.C.H. (2004). Pretty but Poisonous. Australia: R.G. and F.J. Richardson. p. 202. ISBN 0-9587439-9-1.

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[APNI-1] "Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa Benth". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 16 March 2013.

[RFK6.1-2] 1 2 3 Hyland, B. P. M.; Whiffin, T.; Zich, F. A.; et al. (Dec 2010). "Factsheet – Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants. Edition 6.1, online version [RFK 6.1]. Cairns, Australia: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), through its Division of Plant Industry; the Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research; the Australian Tropical Herbarium, James Cook University. Retrieved 16 Mar 2013.