Alchornea ilicifolia
Encyclopedia
Alchornea ilicifolia, commonly known as the Native Holly is a bush of eastern Australia
. Growing in or on the edges of the drier rainforest
s, from Jamberoo, New South Wales
to Atherton, Queensland
.
originally described this species as Caelebogyne ilicifolia in 1839, from three specimens collected by Allan Cunningham in 1829. The Swiss botanist Johann Müller
gave it its current name in 1865. The generic name Alchornea
honours the English botanist Stanesby Alchorne. Ilicifolia refers to the holly like leaves (Ilex).The leaves are food for the larvae of the Common Albatross
butterfly.
s. Small branches greenish or fawn in colour, with paler lenticel
s.
Leaves holly-like in appearance, 2 to 8 cm long, 2 to 5 cm wide. Ovate or rhomboidal in shape with three or four teeth on each side of the leaf. Leaf tip and teeth sharp and pointed. Leaves stiff, hairless and pale on the underside. Leaf stalks around 3 mm long. Leaf venation evident on both leaf sides. Three or four lateral leaf veins nearly at right angles to the midrib, ending in a sharp point.
s. Male and female flowers on separate plants. The fruit is a dark brown capsule about 6 mm in diameter, usually with three lobes. With one seed in each cell. Fruit ripe from September to November, but may also occur at other times of the year. Difficult to regenerate from seed, though cuttings strike well.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Growing in or on the edges of the drier rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s, from Jamberoo, New South Wales
Jamberoo, New South Wales
Jamberoo is a small picturesque village approx 11 km inland from Kiama on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Municipality of Kiama. At the 2006 census, Jamberoo had a population of 935 people...
to Atherton, Queensland
Atherton, Queensland
Atherton is a town on the Atherton Tablelands of Far North Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Atherton had a population of 7,068.-Roads:...
.
Taxonomy
The botanist John SmithJohn Smith (botanist)
John Smith was an English botanist who was the first curator at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , starting in 1841. He had first been employed at the gardens as a stove boy in 1822...
originally described this species as Caelebogyne ilicifolia in 1839, from three specimens collected by Allan Cunningham in 1829. The Swiss botanist Johann Müller
Johannes Müller Argoviensis
Johannes Müller Argoviensis was the name used by the Swiss botanist Johann Müller . He was the monographer of Resedaceae, Apocynaceae and Euphorbiaceae in A. P. de Candolle's Prodromus and Martius's Flora Brasiliensis. He was also an authority on lichens.-References:...
gave it its current name in 1865. The generic name Alchornea
Alchornea
Alchornea is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae. It comprises 70 tropical species.-Synonyms:*Bleekeria Miq.*Bossera Leandri*Caelebogyne J.Sm.*Cladodes Lour.*Hermesia Humb. & Bonpl....
honours the English botanist Stanesby Alchorne. Ilicifolia refers to the holly like leaves (Ilex).The leaves are food for the larvae of the Common Albatross
Appias albina
The Common Albatross is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae , that is found in India and Australia....
butterfly.
Description
A shrub or rarely a small tree up to 6 metres tall and with a stem diameter of 10 cm. The trunk is usually crooked, with pale grey smooth bark, with some pustules and lenticelLenticel
A lenticel is an airy aggregation of cells within the structural surfaces of the stems, roots, and other parts of vascular plants. It functions as a pore, providing a medium for the direct exchange of gasses between the internal tissues and atmosphere, thereby bypassing the periderm, which would...
s. Small branches greenish or fawn in colour, with paler lenticel
Lenticel
A lenticel is an airy aggregation of cells within the structural surfaces of the stems, roots, and other parts of vascular plants. It functions as a pore, providing a medium for the direct exchange of gasses between the internal tissues and atmosphere, thereby bypassing the periderm, which would...
s.
Leaves holly-like in appearance, 2 to 8 cm long, 2 to 5 cm wide. Ovate or rhomboidal in shape with three or four teeth on each side of the leaf. Leaf tip and teeth sharp and pointed. Leaves stiff, hairless and pale on the underside. Leaf stalks around 3 mm long. Leaf venation evident on both leaf sides. Three or four lateral leaf veins nearly at right angles to the midrib, ending in a sharp point.
Flowers and fruit
Greenish flowers apppear in November, on racemeRaceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s. Male and female flowers on separate plants. The fruit is a dark brown capsule about 6 mm in diameter, usually with three lobes. With one seed in each cell. Fruit ripe from September to November, but may also occur at other times of the year. Difficult to regenerate from seed, though cuttings strike well.