Melicope affinis is a species of shrub or tree in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It has trifoliate leaves and small greenish white flowers borne in panicles in leaf axils.
| Melicope affinis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Rutaceae |
| Genus: | Melicope |
| Species: | M. affinis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Melicope affinis | |
Description edit
Melicope affinis is a tree that typically grows to a height of 20 mm (0.79 in) but also forms flowers and fruit as a shrub. The leaves are trifoliate and arranged in opposite pairs on a petiole 20–75 mm (0.79–2.95 in) long, the leaflets usually elliptical, 60–100 mm (2.4–3.9 in) long and 25–40 mm (0.98–1.57 in) wide, the end leaflet on a petiolule 2–10 mm (0.079–0.394 in) long. The flowers are bisexual and arranged in panicles 30–60 mm (1.2–2.4 in) or long in leaf axils. The sepals are egg-shaped to round, about 0.8 mm (0.031 in) long and fused at the base. The petals are greenish white, about 2 mm (0.079 in) long and glabrous and there are four stamens. Flowering has been observed in March and the fruit consists of up to four follicles 3.5–4 mm (0.14–0.16 in) long.[2][3]
Taxonomy edit
Melicope affinis was first formally described in 2001 by Thomas Gordon Hartley in the journal Allertonia from specimens collected by Bruce Gray in 1979.[4][5]
Distribution and habitat edit
This melicope is found between Cooktown and Cairns in far north Queensland where it grows in rather dry rainforest at altitudes between 560 and 900 m (1,840 and 2,950 ft).[2][3]
Conservation status edit
This species is classified as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.[6]
References edit
- ^ "Melicope affinis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ a b Hartley, Thomas G.; Wilson, Annette J.G. (ed.) (2013). Flora of Australia (Volume 26). Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study. p. 100. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
{{cite book}}:|first2=has generic name (help) - ^ a b F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Melicope affinis". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ "Melicope affinis". APNI. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ Hartley, Thomas Gordon (February 2001). "On the Taxonomy and Biogeography of Euodia and Melicope (Rutaceae)". Allertonia. 8 (1): 195. JSTOR 23189298.
- ^ "Species profile—Melicope affinis". Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science. Retrieved 24 July 2020.