Wilkiea hugeliana explained

Wilkiea hugeliana, commonly known as veiny wilkiea, common wilkiea or tetra beech,[1] 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.

Description

Wilkiea hugeliana is a tall shrub or small tree, typically high with a dbh of up to . Its leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, egg-shaped, oblong to narrowly elliptic, long and wide on a petiole long. The leaves are leathery, have a prominent midvein and toothed edges.

Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants, male flowers in leaf axils in groups of 7 to 9, long, each flower spherical, in diameter on a pedicel 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, long, each flower more or less spherical, in diameter on a pedicel long with 20 to 40 carpels. Flowering occurs from September to February, and the fruit is a glossy bluish-black or glossy black drupe with a pale yellow to orange receptacle.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1855 by Louis René Tulasne who gave it the name Mollinedia hugeliana in Annales des Sciences Naturelles.[2] [3] In 1868, Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle transferred the species to Wilkiea as W. hugeliana in Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis.[4] [5]

Distribution and habitat

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.[6] Veiny wilkiea grows in rainforest on the coast and ranges up to, and has a preference for volcanic soils.[7]

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.[8] [9] [10] [11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Whiffin . Trevor J. . Foreman . Donald B. . Wilkiea hugeliana . Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra . 14 May 2024.
  2. Web site: Mollinedia hugeliana. APNI. 14 May 2024.
  3. Tulasne . Edmond . Diagnosed Nonnullas e Monimiacearum . Annales des sciences naturelles Botanique . 4. 1855 . 3 . 45 . 14 May 2024.
  4. Web site: Wilkiea hugeliana. APNI. 14 May 2024.
  5. de Candolle . Alphonse P. . Monimiaceae. . Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis . 1868 . 16 . 2 . 669 . 14 May 2024.
  6. Book: Floyd, A.G.. Alexander Floyd

    . Alexander Floyd. Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia. Inkata Press. 1989. 0-909605-57-2. 222.

  7. Book: Fairley A, Moore P . Native Plants of the Sydney District:An Identification Guide . 2000 . 2nd. Kangaroo Press . 54. Kenthurst, NSW . 0-7318-1031-7.
  8. 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
  9. Web site: Thrips: the primeval pollinators?. Terry. Irene. 2009-08-15.
  10. Web site: Species Thrips setipennis (Bagnall, 1916). Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. 2009-08-15. 2009-05-20.
  11. Web site: VECKANS VÄXT. Swedish. Uppsala University. 2006-09-28. 2009-08-15.