''Coatesia'' is a genus of plant containing the single species ''Coatesia paniculata'', commonly known as axe-breaker or capivi, and 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 eastern Australia. It is a small, evergreen tree with simple, elliptical to egg-shaped leaves,

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 white flowers on the ends of branchlets or in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s and fused follicles with one black seed in each follicle.

Description

''Coatesia paniculata'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of . It has simple leaves that are elliptical to egg-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long and grooved on the upper side. The leaves are

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

, the upper surface glossy dark green and the lower surface paler, and are strongly fragrant when crushed. The flowers are arranged on the ends of branchlets or in upper leaf axils, in panicles long. The five

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 are about long and fused at the base, the five 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, and there are five

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s that are opposite to and shorter than the petals. Flowering occurs from April to May and the fruit is oval, beaked and long with one glossy black seed in each of the two or three follicles.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Coatesia'' and the species ''Coatesia paniculata'' were first formally described in 1862 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

in his book '' Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae''. ,

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

treated the genus as a synonym of ''

Geijera ''Geijera'' is a genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rutaceae and are native to New Guinea, Australia and New Caledonia. They have simple leaves arranged alternately, panicles of bisexual flowers usually with five, sometimes four, sepals, peta ...

'', but it is accepted in a 2021 classification of the family Rutaceae, and placed in the subfamily

Zanthoxyloideae ''Zanthoxyloideae'' is a subfamily of the family Rutaceae. Genera The division of the subfamily into genera varied, . Genera accepted in a 2021 classification of Rutaceae into subfamilies were: *'' Acmadenia'' Bartl. & H.L.Wendl. *'' Acradenia'' ...

Distribution and habitat

''Coatesia paniculata'' grows in rainforest, often dry rainforest, and occurs from Mount Abbot near Bowen in central-eastern Queensland and south to north-eastern New South Wales.

Conservation status

This tree is listed as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government ''

Nature Conservation Act 1992 The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota. As originally published, it prov ...

'' but as "endangered" under the New South Wales Government '' Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016''. The species is only known from a few locations near

Tweed Heads Tweed Heads is a town in New South Wales. It is located on the Tweed River in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in Tweed Shire, next to the border with Queensland and adjacent to its "twin town" of Coolangatta, which is a suburb of the ...

, Lismore and Wardell in New South Wales and is threatened by land clearing, weed invasion and grazing by domestic livestock.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q21078431, from2=Q18076143 paniculata Monotypic Rutaceae genera Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Zanthoxyloideae genera