''Graptophyllum ilicifolium'', otherwise known as the Mount Blackwood holly, is a large
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 ...
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 ...
which grows in
granitic
A granitoid is a generic term for a diverse category of coarse-grained igneous rocks that consist predominantly of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar. Granitoids range from plagioclase-rich tonalites to alkali-rich syenites and from quart ...
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
s. It has shiny, dark green leaves which resemble those of the unrelated
holly
''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...
, and grows best in moist, semi-shaded, well-drained, well-mulched soils. The shrub grows to 5 metres in height and has leaves 7.5 to 10 centimetres long which are shiny, noticeably veined, dark green in colour and have a spinous margin. The flowers are red and in short clusters, each about 2 to 2.5 centimetres in length.
History
The species was originally collected from
Mount Blackwood, north of
Mackay Mackay may refer to:
*Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives
Mackay may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Mackay Region, a local government area
** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region
*** Mackay Airpor ...
, in the 1800s and was part of a collection by Nernst which is now at the Melbourne Herbarium. In 1984, plants described in this collection were found in the
Mount Blackwood and Mount Jukes areas. These were collected and identified to be ''Graptophyllum ilicifolium'' by the Queensland Herbarium.
After identification, the Mount Blackwood holly was propagated and trialled by
Society for Growing Australian Plants
The Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) (ANPSA) is a federation of seven state-based member organisations for people interested in Australia's native flora, both in aspects of conservation and in cultivation.
A national conference is h ...
Mackay Branch members. It was offered to the general public in 1991 at the Australian Plant Spectacular, then adopted as the floral emblem of the Mackay Branch of the Society for Growing Australian Plants in 1992 and the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens in 2003.
References
Mackay Regional Botanical Gardens accessed September 21, 2010.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15326163
ilicifolium
Flora of Queensland
Lamiales of Australia
Vulnerable flora of Australia
Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller
pt:Graptophyllum