Acronychia littoralis
Scented acronychia
Scented acronychia
Wikipedia links: Wikipedia links: Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids > Acronychia littoralis
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Common name: Scented acronychia
Conservation status: Endangered
This acronchyia is classified as "endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
the New South Wales Government Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992
The main threats to the species include inappropriate use of four-wheel drive vehicles, weed invasion and salt burn at exposed sites
Etymology:
Acronychia from Greek “akros” at the farthest point or end, hence topmost, outermost, inmost or highest and “onux u^chos”, talons or claws, referring to the claw-like tips of the petals
From Latin littoralis "pertaining to the seashore
Flowers:
The flowers are mainly arranged in leaf axils in cymes 20–60 mm (0.79–2.36 in) long, each flower on a pedicel 1.5–3.5 mm long
The four sepals are 2.5–3 mm wide, the four petals yellow and 8–9 mm long
Eight stamens alternate in length.
Flowering occurs from February to March
Fruit:
The fruit is a fleshy creamy yellow, egg-shaped to more or less spherical drupe 8–14 mm long with four lobes separated by shallow fissures
Leaves:
The leaves are glabrous, arranged in opposite pairs
Broadly elliptical to broadly egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base
mostly 40–140 mm long and 30–65 mm wide
Petiole 10–25 mm long
Stem & branches:
It is a tree that typically grows to a height of 6–8 m
Has a straight, grey, cylindrical trunk
Roots:
Habit:
A species of small tree
Habitat:
Rainforest
Distribution:
Endemic to eastern coastal Australia
Grows within 2 km of the coast between Fraser Island in Queensland and Iluka in NSW
Additional notes:
It has simple, glabrous, elliptic to egg-shaped leaves, small groups of yellow flowers and egg-shaped to more or less spherical creamy-yellow fruit.
Taxonomy
Acronychia littoralis was first formally described in 1984 by Thomas Hartley and J.B. Williams in the journal Brunonia from specimens collected by J.B. Williams near Brunswick Heads in 1979