Atractocarpus chartaceus

Synonyms: Gardenia chartacea (1860), Randia chartacea (1875), Atractocarpus chartaceus (1999)

Narrow-leaved Gardenia

The genus name Atractocarpus is created from the Ancient Greek atractos (spindle) and karpos (fruit); It refers to the shape of the fruit of the type species, Atractocarpus bracteatus
The species epithet chartaceus is derived from the Latin word charta (paper), which is a reference to the thin papery leaves.

Flowers:

This species is dioecious, meaning that functionally female and functionally male flowers are borne on separate plants
The inflorescences are either terminal or axillary and include one, two or three flowers
The individual flowers are actinomorphic and either 5 or 6 merous (i.e. with 5 or 6 petals and sepals)
They are quite fragrant
Flowering occurs from August to October

Fruit:

The fruits are a berry in botanical terms, measuring 15 to 30 mm long and 7 to 18 mm in diameter
They are orange or red, finely hairy and the remains of the calyx tube is attached at the distal end
Fruits contain a sweet edible pulp with several 4 to 5 mm seeds embedded in it
They ripen from April to August

Leaves:

The leaves are dark green and glabrous on the upper surface, and dull grey-green below.
They may be opposite and decussate, or arranged in whorls or 3 or 4
The juvenile leaves are very long and narrow, measuring up to 25 by 1 cm
The mature leaves are broadly oblanceolate, measuring up to 15.5 by 5 cm
They have 8-11 pairs of secondary veins (i.e. the veins that branch off from the midrib) which are quite prominent on both surfaces
The leaves are often marked by the trail of a leaf miner

Stem & branches:

The trunk is crooked and asymmetrical at the base
The bark is brownish grey, and relatively smooth with some wrinkles or horizontal cracks
The tips of the branchlets have fawn hairs

Roots:

Habit:

Atractocarpus chartaceus is an understory shrub or small tree
Growing up to 6 m in height under ideal conditions, with a stem diameter up to 7.5 cm

Habitat:

It is mostly found in subtropical rainforest of eastern Australia
Basaltic and alluvial soils where the annual rainfall is between 1,300 and 1,600 mm

Distribution:

Coastal subtropical forests of eastern Australia, from the Richmond River, NSW (about 29°S) to Gladstone, Queensland (about 23°S)
There is also a small, very disjunct population in Eungella National Park west of Mackay, Queensland (about 21°S), some 370 km (230 mi) to the north
Puttock surmises that the disjunction is a result of a lack of observations/collections, rather than the plant being absent from the area

Additional notes:

Taxonomy
- The German naturalist and Government Botanist for Victoria, Ferdinand von Mueller, originally described this species in 1860 as Gardenia chartacea
- Publishing it in his work Essay on the plants collected by Mr Eugene Fitzalan during Lieut. Smith's Expedition to the Estuary of the Burdekin
- In 1875 he revised the name in his monumental work Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae, transferring it to a new genus with the combination Randia chartacea
- More than one hundred years later, in 1999, it was revised by botanists Christopher Francis Puttock and Christopher John Quinn who placed the species in its current genus Atractocarpus
Ecology
- It has been identified as a host plant for the leaf mining larvae of the genus Gracillariidae
Cultivation
- It is cultivated for its fragrant flowers and colourful fruit
- It has been in cultivation in Australia for some years
- It is an attractive garden ornamental with its glossy foliage, scented flowers and colourful fruit, and the flowers attract a numerous birds and insects to the garden
- It prefers a shady position and good drainage
- It can be propagated from fresh seed, which may take a few months but is usually successful, or from cuttings of the current season's growth

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