''Harpullia hillii'', commonly known as blunt-leaved tulip or oblong-leaved tulip, is a tree in the family

Sapindaceae The Sapindaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1858 accepted species. Examples include horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee. The Sapindaceae occur in tempera ...

, endemic to eastern Australia. Although the species may grow to 20 metres high, most trees are less than 10 metres high. Each leaf comprises 4 to 12 leaflets, that are oblong or elliptic oblong and between 5 and 15 cm long and 2 to 6 cm wide. White flowers with petals 10–12 mm long appear in

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 that are 10–25 cm long. These are followed by orange fruit that are 25–30 mm in diameter and 12–14 mm long. The fruit, which is positioned above the persistent

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, becomes woody with age. The glossy black seeds protrude from red

aril An aril (pronounced ), also called an arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode or false aril is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the see ...

s. The species was formally described in 1859 by Victorian government botanist

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 ...

based on plant material collected by Walter Hill, first superintendent of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. It occurs in dry rainforest from the Burdekin River in Queensland southwards to Wauchope, New South Wales. The species is cultivated for its dense foliage and ornamental, but inedible, berries. It prefers a partially shaded situation, protected from frost. Plants may be propagated from fresh seeds pre-soaked in water. The larvae of the Common Pencilled-blue butterfly (''

Candalides absimilis ''Candalides absimilis'', the pencilled blue or common pencil-blue, is a species of butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found along the east coast of Australia, including Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Vic ...

'') feed on the species. ''Harpullia hillii'' was depicted, together with ''

Mackinlaya macrosciadea ''Mackinlaya macrosciadea'' is a species of plant in the family Apiaceae, first described in 1860 by Ferdinand von Mueller as ''Panax macrosciadeus'', and then transferred by him into the genus ''Mackinlaya'' in 1864. It goes by the common name ...

'', in a watercolour by botanical illustrator Ellis Rowan in 1887.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q16982781 hillii Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller