''Bursaria tenuifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Pittosporaceae and is endemic to north-eastern Queensland. It is a shrub or spindly tree with elliptic to rhombic adult leaves, spiny foliage when young, flowers with five whitish petals, and slightly flattened, papery fruit.

Description

''Bursaria tenuifolia'' is a shrub or spindly tree that typically grows to a height of up to and has smooth, mottled bark. The young growth is armed with spines, the edges of leaves with teeth or lobes. Adult stages have few spines, the leaves elliptic to more or less rhombic, long and wide on a petiole long. There are both andromonoecious and

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

flowers, the bisexual flowers on pedicels long. The sepals are long and spread from the base and the five petals are white, long and also spread from the base. Flowering mostly occurs from April to July and the fruit is a slightly flattened, papery capsule long and wide.

Taxonomy

''Bursaria tenuifolia'' was first formally described in 1899 by Frederick Manson Bailey in his book ''The Queensland Flora''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''tenuifolia'') means "narrow-leaved".

Distribution and habitat

This bursaria grows in open scrubland and in the margins of rainforest at altitudes up to about and occurs in north-eastern Queensland.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15588536 tenuifolia Pittosporaceae Plants described in 1899 Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Frederick Manson Bailey