Ricinocarpos megalocarpus

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Ricinocarpos megalocarpus
Ricinocarpos megalocarpus close.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Ricinocarpos
Species:
R. megalocarpus
Binomial name
Ricinocarpos megalocarpus
Habit in Cape Le Grand National Park Ricinocarpos megalocarpus habit.jpg
Habit in Cape Le Grand National Park

Ricinocarpos megalocarpus is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to the south coast of Western Australia. It is a compact, rounded, usually monoecious shrub with linear leaves and white flowers, arranged either singly, or male flowers in groups, or with a single female flower surrounded by up to six male flowers.

Contents

Description

Ricinocarpos megalocarpus is a compact, rounded, usually monoecious, rarely dioecious shrub that typically grows to height of up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in), its young branchlets glabrous. The leaves are linear, 9–20 mm (0.35–0.79 in) long and 1.6–1.8 mm (0.063–0.071 in) wide on a glabrous petiole 1.5–2.0 mm (0.059–0.079 in) long. The upper surface of the leaves is smooth and glabrous and the lower surface is covered with soft, white hairs. The flowers are arranged either singly, in groups of male flowers, or by a single female flower surrounded by up to six male flowers. Male flowers are on a slender pedicel 8–22 mm (0.31–0.87 in) long, the sepals joined at the base, densely hairy on the inner surface, the sepal lobes 1.3–1.7 mm (0.051–0.067 in) long. The petals are white, glabrous and narrowly egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 9.5–11 mm (0.37–0.43 in) long and 3.5–4.5 mm (0.14–0.18 in) wide. Each male flower has about 55 stamens. Female flowers are on a stout pedicel 4–15 mm (0.16–0.59 in) long, the petals 11–12 mm (0.43–0.47 in) long and 3.5–4.0 mm (0.14–0.16 in) wide. Flowering occurs from August to February, and the fruit is an oval capsule about 14–16 mm (0.55–0.63 in) long and 10–13 mm (0.39–0.51 in) wide. [2] [3]

Taxonomy and naming

Ricinocarpos megalocarpus was first formally described in 2007 by David Halford and Rodney Henderson in the journal Austrobaileya from specimens collected by Paul Wilson in the Duke of Orleans Bay in Cape Le Grand National Park in 1968. [2] [4] The specific epithet (megalocarpus) means "large-fruited", referring to the fruits compred to those of the similar R. tuberculatus . [2] [5]

Distribution and habitat

This species grows in heath on coastal sand dunes between Cape Le Grand and Cape Arid National Park, in the Esperance Plains, Mallee and Swan Coastal Plain bioregions of south-western Western Australia. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

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Ricinocarpos is a genus of evergreen flowering plants in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus Ricinocarpos are monoecious shrubs with leaves arranged alternately along the branches, the edges curved downwards or rolled under. Male flowers are arranged singly or in racemes at the ends of branchlets, with four to six sepals that are fused at the base. There are four to six petals that are longer than the sepals, with many stamens fused to form a central column. Female flowers are arranged singly and are similar to male flowers but with three styles fused at the base and with a deeply branched tip. The fruit is a capsule containing seeds with an elaiosome.

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<i>Cryptandra debilis</i> Species of flowering plant

Cryptandra debilis is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to north Queensland. It is a small shrub with clustered, linear leaves and densely-hairy, white, tube-shaped flowers.

<i>Ricinocarpos bowmanii</i> Species of shrub

Ricinocarpos bowmanii, commonly known as western wedding bush or Bowman jasmine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is usually a monoecious shrub with linear to oblong leaves and three to six male flowers around each female flower.

Ricinocarpos brevis is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to inland Western Australia. It is a monoecious, densely-branched shrub with narrowly oblong leaves and male and female flowers arranged singly or in small groups.

<i>Ricinocarpos caniana</i> Species of shrub

Ricinocarpos caniana is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of south-eastern Queensland. It is an erect monoecious or dioecious shrub with linear leaves and white flowers, arranged either singly, with two to five male flowers, or a single female flower surrounded by up to four male flowers.

Ricinocarpos crispatus is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to south-western Queensland. It is a monoecious or dioecious shrub with linear leaves and white flowers, arranged either singly, with two to four male flowers, or a single female flower surrounded by one or two male flowers.

<i>Ricinocarpos cyanescens</i> Species of shrub

Ricinocarpos cyanescens is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a compact, monoecious shrub with narrowly oblong leaves and male and female flowers arranged singly or in small groups.

<i>Ricinocarpos glaucus</i> Species of shrub

Ricinocarpos glaucus is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, monoecious or dioecious shrub with linear or narrowly oblong leaves and male and female flowers arranged singly or in small groups.

<i>Ricinocarpos gloria-medii</i> Species of shrub

Ricinocarpos gloria-medii is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to the Northern Territory of Australia. It is a spreading, monoecious or dioecious shrub with linear leaves and male and female flowers arranged singly or in small groups.

Ricinocarpos graniticus is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a monoecious shrub with linear leaves and creamy white flowers, arranged either singly, or with a single female flower surrounded by one or two male flowers.

<i>Ricinocarpos ledifolius</i> Species of shrub

Ricinocarpos ledifolius is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to eastern Queensland. It is a monoecious or dioecious shrub or small tree with linear leaves and white flowers, arranged either singly, or with two or three female or two to six male flowers, or a single female flower surrounded by two male flowers.

<i>Ricinocarpos linearifolius</i> Species of shrub

Ricinocarpos linearifolius is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a monoecious or dioecious shrub with hairy young branchlets, linear leaves and white flowers, arranged either singly, with two to four male flowers, or a single female flower surrounded by up to three male flowers.

Ricinocarpos marginatus is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to the north-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, monoecious shrub with narrowly elliptic leaves and white flowers arranged in groups of male flowers, or up to three female flowers surrounded by many male flowers.

References

  1. "Ricinocarpos megalocarpus". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Halford, David A.; Henderson, Rodney J.F. (2007). "A taxonomic revision of Ricinocarpos Desf. (Euphorbiaceae: Ricinocarpeae, Ricinocarpinae)". Austrobaileya. 7 (3): 417–418. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Ricinocarpos megalocarpus". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. "Ricinocarpos megalocarpus". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  5. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 250. ISBN   9780958034180.