Sankowskya

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Sankowskya
Sankowskya stipularis.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Picrodendraceae
Tribe: Caletieae
Subtribe: Dissiliariinae
Genus: Sankowskya
P.I.Forst. [3] [4]
Species:
S. stipularis
Binomial name
Sankowskya stipularis

Sankowskya is a genus of plants endemic to Queensland, Australia. The genus contains only one species, Sankowskya stipularis, which was first described in 1995 and has been given the conservation status of 'endangered'.

Contents

Description

Sankowskya stipularis is a small tree growing to about 15 m (49 ft) tall with a straight cylindrical trunk up to 10 cm (3.9 in) diameter. The bark is pale, smooth and without distinctive features. The young twigs have scattered hairs but become glabrous as they mature; new leaves are pink or red, becoming dark green on both sides. Stipules are present and may reach up to 3.5 cm (1.4 in) in length. The leaves are attached to the twigs with petioles about 5 mm (0.20 in) long, the leaf blades are lanceolate to elliptic with up to 30 rounded teeth on each edge. They are 5 to 18 cm (2.0 to 7.1 in) long and 1.5 to 6.5 cm (0.59 to 2.56 in) wide with seven to ten lateral veins either side of the midrib. [7] [8]

Flowers

Inflorescences occur in the leaf axils towards the ends of the branches, and may have only male flowers, only female flowers, or both. Female inflorescences consist of one or two flowers while male inflorescences are glomerules i.e. small dense clusters of stemless flowers. Female flowers have nil petals and three overlapping sepals, three styles and a three-locular ovary, with each locule having two ovules. Male flowers have nil petals, four sepals in two rows and 12–15 stamens. [7] [8]

Fruit

The fruit is a green to brown, globose or cylindrical capsule up to 15 mm (0.59 in) long and 11 mm (0.43 in) wide, with the calyx lobes persisting at the base and the three styles persisting at the apex. It contains a number of pale brown, smooth seeds about 8 mm (0.31 in) long and 5 mm (0.20 in) wide. [8] [9] [10]

Phenology

Flowing and fruiting occurs throughout the year, with a peak of activity in late spring and summer, i.e. November to January. [8] [10]

Xray of a leaf of this species Sankowskya stipularis leaf xray.jpg
Xray of a leaf of this species

Taxonomy

This species first became known to botanical science in 1989, when specimens of the plant were collected by plant collector and grower Gary Sankowsky, who has provided numerous collections of various taxa to Australian herbaria. The plant was formally described in 1995 by botanist Paul Irwin Forster, who erected the new genus Sankowskya to accommodate it, and placed it in the subtribe Dissiliariinae of the Euphorbiaceae family. [8] The subtribe and its child taxa were later moved to Picrodendraceae. [6]

Etymology

The generic name Sankowskya was chosen by Forster in recognition of the collector of the original specimens, Gary Sankowsky. The species epithet stipularis is a reference to the plant's large conspicuous stipules. [8]

Distribution and habitat

It was originally thought that this plant was restricted an extremely small area near Julatten, but in 2014 a specimen was collected near the coast north of Palmer Point, about 30 km (19 mi) southeast of Cairns and about 90 km (56 mi) southeast of all other collections. In the Julatten area it inhabits swampy rainforest that is subject to seasonal waterlogging. [8] [9] [11]

The area of occupancy [a] of the Julatten population is estimated to be just 28 km2 (11 sq mi). The altitudinal range of that population is from about 390 m (1,280 ft) to about 440 m (1,440 ft). [12]

Herbarium specimen Sankowskya stipularis herbarium specimen 2.jpg
Herbarium specimen

Conservation

In his protologue, Forster pointed out that the habitat of the species was not only small but may be subject to residential development. He stated the urgent need for a management plan and recommended that the plant be given a classification of 2E, [b] which identifies the plant as having a restricted range and being at risk of becoming extinct. [13] As of September 2025, the species is classified as endangered under both the Australian Government's EPBC Act and the Queensland Government's Nature Conservation Act. [1] [2]

While much of the plant's range is on freehold land, it is also present at the Thylogale Nature Refuge, a privately owned sanctuary dedicated to conservation of local flora and fauna. [14]

Notes

  1. ↑ For a definition of Area of Occupancy see this page at the Atlas of Living Australia
  2. ↑ Based on the conservation coding system developed and published by John D. Briggs in his book Rare or Threatened Australian Plants

References

  1. 1 2 "Sankowskya stipularis". Species Profile and Threats Database - Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Australian Government. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Sankowskya stipularis". Wildnet. Queensland Government. 2025. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  3. ↑ "Sankowskya". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government . Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  4. ↑ "Sankowskya stipularis P.I.Forst". Plants of the World Online . Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2025. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  5. ↑ "Sankowskya stipularis". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government . Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Sankowskya stipularis P.I.Forst". Plants of the World Online . Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2025. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  7. 1 2 Forster, P.I. (2024). Kodela, P.G. (ed.). "Sankowskya stipularis". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Forster, Paul I. (1995). "Sankowskya, a new genus of Euphorbiaceae (Dissiliariinae) from the Australian Wet Tropics". Austrobaileya. 4 (3): 329–335. doi:10.5962/p.365820. JSTOR   41738868.
  9. 1 2 F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Sankowskya stipularis". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government . Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  10. 1 2 Cooper, Wendy; Cooper, William T. (June 2004). Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia: Nokomis Editions. p. 197. ISBN   978-0-9581742-1-3.
  11. ↑ "Occurrence record: Herbrecs:BRI AQ0909488". Atlas of Living Australia. CSIRO . Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  12. ↑ "Spatial Portal - Sankowskya stipularis". Atlas of Living Australia. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  13. ↑ Briggs, J.D.; Leigh, J.H. (1988). Rare or Threatened Australian Plants. Canberra: Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service. p. 6. ISBN   0642-52672-9 . Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  14. ↑ "Thylogale Nature Refuge". Humane World for Animals. Humane World for Animals Australia Ltd. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
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