''Bosistoa floydii'', commonly known as the five-leaf bosistoa or five-leaved bonewood, is a species of small rainforest tree that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to north-eastern New South Wales. It has

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

leaves usually with five elliptic leaflets, and

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s of tiny, creamy white flowers.

Description

''Bosistoa floydii'' grows as a small tree that may reach high and has a spreading crown. The trunk is buttressed and can reach a diameter of , and the bark is grey. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs on thick green or fawn branches and are pinnate, long on a petiole long. There are three to seven, usually five glossy elliptical leaflets, each long and wide on a

petiolule In botany, the petiole () is the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem, and is able to twist the leaf to face the sun. This gives a characteristic foliage arrangement to the plant. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole in som ...

long. The leaflets have prominent oli

glands In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

and a pointed tip. Appearing in October and November, the tiny flowers are arranged in panicles up to long. Each flower has five hairy

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s about long and five oval, white or creamy white

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s long. Flowering is followed by one, or rarely two small, warty, woody, yellow-brown fruit that ripen in February.

Taxonomy

''Bosistoa floydii'' was first described in 1977 by

Thomas Gordon Hartley Thomas Gordon Hartley (9 January 1931 in Beaumont, Texas – 8 March 2016 in Canberra, Australia) was an American botanist. Biography In 1955 Hartley graduated in botany with the academic degree Bachelor of Science at the University of Wisconsin-E ...

who published the description in the ''

Journal of the Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in N ...

''. The generic name ''Bosistoa'' honours the name of

Joseph Bosisto Joseph Bosisto CMG, MLA JP (21 March 1827 – 8 November 1898), was a chemist and politician in colonial Victoria, Australia. Background Bosisto was the son of William Bosisto and Maria née Lazenby, of Cookham, Berkshire, and was born on 21 M ...

, a manufacturer of essential oils. The specific epithet ''floydii'' honours the eminent Australian rainforest botanist

Alexander Floyd Alexander Geoffrey Floyd (1 April 1926 – 12 December 2022) was an Australian botanist with an expert knowledge of rainforest plants, particularly the rainforest trees of New South Wales. He has worked with the New South Wales Forestry Commiss ...

Distribution and habitat

Five-leaf bosistoa is restricted to subtropical rainforest in the Bellinger and

Orara River Orara River, a perennial stream of the Clarence River catchment, is located in the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Orara River rises on the eastern slopes of the Dorrigo Plateau, Great Dividing Range, ...

areas in north-eastern New South Wales, where it grows on

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

or rich alluvial soils.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13895258 floydii Sapindales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Trees of Australia Plants described in 1977 Taxa named by Thomas Gordon Hartley