Wilkiea hugeliana, commonly known as veiny wilkiea, common wilkiea or tetra beech,[3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Monimiaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a tall shrub or small tree with egg-shaped, oblong to narrowly elliptic leaves, and male and female flowers on separate plants. Male flowers have 3 or 4 stamens and female flowers have 20 to 40 carpels, and the fruit is a blackish oval drupe with a yellow to orange receptacle.
Wilkiea hugeliana is a tall shrub or small tree, typically 1–8m (3ft 3in– 26ft 3in) high with a dbh of up to 10cm (3.9in).[3][4] Its leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, egg-shaped, oblong to narrowly elliptic, 60–150mm (2.4–5.9in) long and 10–80mm (0.39–3.15in) wide on a petiole5–12mm (0.20–0.47in) long. The leaves are leathery, have a prominent midvein and toothed edges.[4][3]
Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants, male flowers in leaf axils in groups of 7 to 9, 20–25mm (0.79–0.98in) long, each flower spherical, 2–4mm (0.079–0.157in) in diameter on a pedicel4–10mm (0.16–0.39in) long with 6 tepals and 3 or 4 stamens. Female flowers are borne on the ends of branchlets or in leaf axils in groups of 5 to 9, 25–30mm (0.98–1.18in) long, each flower more or less spherical, 4–6mm (0.16–0.24in) in diameter on a pedicel 5–10mm (0.20–0.39in) long with 20 to 40 carpels.[3] Flowering occurs from September to February,[4] and the fruit is a glossy bluish-black or glossy black drupe with a pale yellow to orange receptacle.[3]
The natural distribution is from Mount Dromedary (36° S) near Narooma in south eastern New South Wales to Maryborough (25° S) in south eastern Queensland.[4] Veiny wilkiea grows in rainforest on the coast and ranges up to 900m (3,000ft),[3] and has a preference for volcanic soils.[9]
Ecology
Wilkiea hugeliana is most likely pollinated by Thrips setipennis, a species of thrips. These insects have been found in both male and female flowers.[10][11][12][13]
1 2 3 4 5 6 Whiffin, Trevor J.; Foreman, Donald B. "Wilkiea hugeliana". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
↑ de Candolle, Alphonse P. (1868). "Monimiaceae". Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis. 16 (2): 669. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
↑ Fairley A, Moore P (2000). Native Plants of the Sydney District:An Identification Guide (2nded.). Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p.54. ISBN0-7318-1031-7.
↑ Williams, G., Adams, P. & Mound, L.A. 2001. Thrips (Thysanoptera) pollination in Australian subtropical rainforests, with particular reference to pollination of Wilkiea hugeliana. (Monimiaceae). Journal of Natural History 35: 1-21
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