Acronychia littoralis

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information

Wikipedia links:       Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids  >  Acronychia littoralis

Other links:     

Plant  information

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