''Alyxia oblongata'', commonly known as the chain fruit, prickly lixy, or prickly Alyxia, is a plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae endemic to a small part of northeastern Queensland.

Description

''Alyxia oblongata'' is an evergreen

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

growing up to high. The dark glossy green leaves are borne in

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral d ...

of three or four on the twigs, and measure about . They are elliptic with a sharp, rigid tip and have up to 20 lateral veins. The flowers are typical of the family, being white with five sepals and petals and a long corolla tube. They measure about long and diameter. The fruit are orange/red in colour and may be moniliform, i.e. with the appearance of a string of beads.

Taxonomy

This species was first described in 1928 by the Czech botanist Karel Domin, who published his description in ''

Bibliotheca Botanica ''Bibliotheca Botanica'' ("Bibliography of botany", Amsterdam, 1736, Salomen Schouten; 2nd edn., 1751) is a botany book by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778). The book was written and published in Amsterdam when Linnaeus was twenty-e ...

''. In 1992 the Australian botanist Paul Forster redefined it as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''Alyxia ruscifolia'', namely ''A.r.'' ssp. ''major'', however this combination is no longer accpted by most authorities.

Etymolgy

The genus name ''Alyxia'' is derived from the Greek language word álysos, "chain", which refers to the chain-like appearance of the fruit. The species epithet ''oblongata'' is from "oblong" and again refers to the appearance of the fruit.

Distribution and habitat

The chain fruit is endemic to northeastern Queensland, from near

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs ...

to the southern

Atherton Tableland The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...

s. It grows in

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

on volcanic soils of various types, at altitudes from to .

Conservation

This species is listed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science as least concern. , it has not been assessed by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Gallery

File:Alyxia oblongata 142543826.jpg, Foliage File:Alyxia-oblongata-SF21348-02.jpg, Ripening fruit File:Alyxia-oblongata-SF22283-03.jpg, Unripe fruit File:Alyxia-oblongata-SF22283-05.jpg, Foliage

References

External links

* *
View a map
of historical sightings of this species at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium
View observations
of this species on iNaturalist
View images
of this species on Flickriver oblongata Endemic flora of Queensland Taxa named by Karel Domin Plants described in 1928 {{Taxonbar , from=Q15390747