Tasmannia membranea

Location & distribution maps

Common name:         Pepper Tree

Conservation status: Least concern

• This species of Tasmannia is listed as of "least concern" by the Queensland Government, Department of Education and Science

Etymology:   

Flowers:

• 
  

• Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants, each flower with 2 petals

• Male flowers are borne on a pedicel 7–36 mm long and have 30–62 stamens

• Female flowers are on a pedicel 6–23 mm long with a single sessile carpel containing 14 to 36 ovules. 

• Flowering occurs from June to October 

Fruit:                            

• A black, spherical or oval, 10–11 mm long 

• It has 4 to 7, slightly curved seeds 3.0–3.5 mm long

Leaves:         

• Its leaves are egg-shaped with the narrower end toward the base or lance-shaped

• 80–170 mm long and 9–40 mm wide on a petiole 1–13 mm long

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A shrub or tree that typically grows to a height of 1.5–4 m and has striated, reddish branchlets

Habitat:   

Distribution:                  

• Tasmannia membranea grows in the understorey of rainforest at altitudes between 300 and 1,550 m from near Rossville to Paluma in north-eastern Queensland

Additional notes:    

• Taxonomy

  • This species was first formally described in 1866 by Ferdinand von Mueller, who gave it the name Drimys membranea in his Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected by John Dallachy

  • In 1969, Albert Charles Smith transferred the species to Tasmannia as T. membranea in journal Taxon

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmannia_membranea (2024)