Aceratium is a genus of about 20 species of trees and shrubs of eastern Malesia and Australasia from the family Elaeocarpaceae.[1][2][3][4][5] In Australia they are commonly known as carabeens.[4][5] They grow naturally in rainforests, as large shrubs to understorey trees and large trees.[1][2][4][5]

Aceratium
Aceratium ferrugineum flowering; cultivated plant at Roma Street Parkland, Brisbane, 11 Dec 2011, by Tatiana Gerus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Oxalidales
Family: Elaeocarpaceae
Genus: Aceratium
DC.[1][2]
Type species
Aceratium oppositifolium
DC.
Species

See text

They grow naturally in New Guinea, the centre of diversity, in New Britain, New Ireland, Vanuatu, Sulawesi, Moluccas,[1] and in Australia, where botanists have formally described five species endemic to the Wet Tropics rainforests of northeastern Queensland.[2][4][5]

Some species have uses for their fruits as food and,[1] although not yet well known, some have popularity in cultivation, for example in Brisbane.[citation needed]

Selected species edit

 
A. ferrugineum fruiting; cultivated plant at Roma Street Parkland, Brisbane, 11 Dec 2011, by Tatiana Gerus

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Coode, Mark J. E. (1995) [originally published 1981]. "Elaeocarpaceae". In Henty, E. E. (ed.). Handbooks of the Flora of Papua New Guinea. (Digitised, online, freely available via www.pngplants.org). Vol. 2 (reprinted ed.). Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. pp. 39–51. ISBN 0-522-84204-6. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d "Aceratium%". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS) database (listing by % wildcard matching of all taxa relevant to Australia). Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  3. ^ Conn, Barry J. (2013) [2008+]. "Aceratium" (Online, from pngplants.org/PNGCensus). Census of Vascular Plants of Papua New Guinea. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Elaeocarpaceae". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Cooper, Wendy; Cooper, William T. (June 2004). Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia: Nokomis Editions. p. 157. ISBN 9780958174213. Retrieved 21 June 2021.