Harpullia is a genus of 37 species of small to medium-sized tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s in the soapberry family Sapindaceae

Sapindaceae

Sapindaceae, also known as the soapberry family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales. There are about 140-150 genera with 1400-2000 species, including maple, horse chestnut and lychee....

. It was first defined by Scottish botanist William Roxburgh

William Roxburgh

William Roxburgh was a Scottish surgeon and botanist. He has been called the Father of Indian Botany.-Early life:Roxburgh was born at Underwood in the parish of Craigie, Ayrshire. He studied medicine in Edinburgh...

 in 1824. They have a wide distribution ranging from India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 eastwards into the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. They are usually found in or on the margins of rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

s.

The eight species of Australia

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...

n Harpullia are known as tulipwoods and were prized for their dark coloured timber. Five are endemic. The one most commonly known to horticulture is Harpullia pendula

Harpullia pendula

Harpullia pendula, known as the tulipwood or tulip lancewood is a small to medium sized rainforest tree from Australia. The tree's small size, pleasant form and attractive fruit ensures the popularity of this ornamental tree. The range of natural distribution is from the Bellinger River in northern...

which is widely planted as a street tree along the east coast of Australia. H. frutescens

Harpullia frutescens

Harpullia frutescens is a shrub found in rainforests of eastern Australia. It was first described by Frederick Manson Bailey in 1889....

is a small shrub with horticultural potential.