Tasmannia  sp. Mt Bellenden

Location & distribution maps

Common name:         ...

Conservation status: ...

Etymology:   

Flowers:

• Flowers about 11-15 mm diam

• Pedicels about 20-30 mm long

• Perianth in two whorls of two

• Outer perianth segments about 7 x 8 mm. Inner perianth segments about 8 x 3 mm

• Stamens about 30-40, filaments about 0.5-1 mm long, anthers yellow, about 1 x 1.2 mm

Fruit:                            

• Fruits ovoid or ellipsoid, about 12 x 10 mm with a suture line along one side

• Seeds numerous, about 20-25 per fruit

• Seeds curved and narrowed towards one end, seeds about 4 x 2 mm. Testa thin and brittle

•  Embryo very small, difficult to find

Leaves:         

• Leaves clustered towards the ends of the twigs

• Leaf blades about 7.5-15 x 2.5-5 cm, petioles absent or very short, about 0.3-0.4 cm long

• Lateral veins forming loops well inside the blade margin, sometimes a double series of loops

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• Can grow into a small tree but usually flowers and fruits as a shrub about 1-3 m tall

Habitat:   

• Altitudinal range not known but collections made in the 1500-1600 m range

• Grows in windswept mountain rain forest and vine-fern thickets

Distribution:                  

• Endemic to NEQ, known only from collections made on the summit area of Mt Bellenden Ker

Additional notes:  

Sources of information:

• https://apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/entities/tasmannia_sp__mt_bellenden_ker_j_r.clarkson_6571.htm (2024)