''Aphananthe philippinensis'' is a common rainforest tree in the family

Cannabaceae Cannabaceae is a small family (biology), family of flowering plants, known as the hemp family. As now Circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed, the family includes about 170 species grouped in about 11 genera, including ''Cannabis'' (hemp), ''H ...

. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

it occurs from the

Manning River Manning River (Birpai language, Biripi: ''Boolumbahtee''), an open and Breakwater (structure), trained mature wind wave, wave dominated estuary#Lagoon-type or bar-built, barrier estuary, is located in the Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coast ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to near

Herberton Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Herberton had a population of 855 people. Geography Herberton is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is situa ...

in tropical

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. It was first described from the island of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, hence the species name. The generic name of ''Aphananthe'' refers to ''insignificant flower''s. This plant also occurs on the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

and in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

The Australian habitat includes dry rainforest sites. However, it is mostly seen by streams on moist alluvial soils. Common names in Australia include native elm, grey handlewood, axe handle wood, rough-leaved hickory and asbestos tree.

Description

Growing to 35 metres tall and 85 cm in width, though usually seen as a smaller sized tree. The trunk is fluted and irregular in shape, buttressed at the base. The brown bark sheds irregularly; pustules and bumps give a patchy appearance. Branchlets are grey in colour with longitudinal cracks.

Leaves

Leaves are alternate on the stem, hard, dry to touch and sandpapery, though easily snapped off and brittle. Prominently toothed with a sharp prickly point. Lanceolate in shape, 4 to 6 cm long, 1.5 to 3 cm wide. Green both sides, paler below. Leaves veiny on both sides; midrib, lateral and net veins visible. Midrib depressed on the upper surface, raised underneath. Midrib pale in colour under the leaf.

Flowers and fruit

Male flowers form on small

cymes An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed on ...

. Female flowers on the same plant, being in singles or rarely two together, forming on a 5 mm long stalk. Male and female flowers around 5 mm long, in the months of September to November. The fruit is an egg shaped black

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

, 6 mm long containing a single seed. The seed is 5 mm long, somewhat ''three angled''. Fruit matures from February to June.

Ecology

Native elm is a food tree for the common aeroplane and

rounded six-line blue ''Nacaduba berenice'', the rounded six-line blue, is a lycaenid butterfly found in Indomalayan realm. The species was first described by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer in 1869. Description Race ''plumbeomicans'' Male upperside: dul ...

butterflies. Fruit eaten by a variety of birds, including

Australian king parrot The Australian king parrot (''Alisterus scapularis'') is a species of parrot endemic to eastern Australia ranging from Cooktown in Queensland to Port Campbell in Victoria. Found in humid and heavily forested upland regions of the eastern portion ...

brown cuckoo-dove The brown cuckoo-dove (''Macropygia phasianella'') is a dove in the genus ''Macropygia'' found in Australia from Weipa and Aurukun in the north to Bega, New South Wales, Bega in the south, and most inland at Atherton, Queensland, Atherton and Too ...

black-faced cuckoo-shrike The black-faced cuckooshrike (''Coracina novaehollandiae'') is a common omnivorous passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. It has a protected status in Australia, under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974. They are wid ...

figbird The figbirds are a genus (''Sphecotheres'') in the family of Old World orioles found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and the Lesser Sundas. Taxonomy and systematics Formerly, the three species have been considered conspecific, but ...

green catbird The green catbird (''Ailuroedus crassirostris'') is a species of bowerbird found in subtropical forests along the east coast of Australia, from southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. It is named after its distinctive call which soun ...

Lewin's honeyeater Lewin's honeyeater (''Meliphaga lewinii'') is a bird that inhabits the ranges along the east coast of Australia. It has a semicircular ear-patch, pale yellow in colour. The name of this bird commemorates the Australian artist John Lewin. Descri ...

olive-backed oriole The olive-backed oriole (''Oriolus sagittatus''), or white-bellied oriole, is a very common medium-sized passerine bird native to northern and eastern Australia and south-central New Guinea. The most wide-ranging of the Australasian orioles, it ...

pied currawong The pied currawong (''Strepera graculina'') is a black passerine bird native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. One of three currawong species in the genus ''Strepera'', it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie of ...

rainbow lorikeet The rainbow lorikeet (''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Six ...

satin bowerbird The satin bowerbird (''Ptilonorhynchus violaceus'') is a bowerbird endemic to eastern Australia. A rare natural hybrid (biology), intergeneric hybrid between the satin bowerbird and the regent bowerbird is known as Rawnsley's bowerbird. Descrip ...

scaly-breasted lorikeet The scaly-breasted lorikeet (''Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus'') is an Australian lorikeet found in woodland in eastern Australia. The common name aptly describes this bird, which has yellow breast feathers broadly edged with green that look li ...

and

yellow-eyed cuckoo-shrike The barred cuckooshrike (''Coracina lineata''), also called the yellow-eyed cuckooshrike, is a species of bird in the family Campephagidae. It is found in eastern Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands. Taxonomy Subspeci ...

References

*
Aphananthe philippinensis at ''NSW Flora Online''
Retrieved on 2009-08-28

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q4779477 Cannabaceae Trees of the Philippines Rosales of Australia Trees of Australia Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Flora of New Guinea Trees of the Solomon Islands