''Hedraianthera'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of a sole recognised species of shrubs or small trees

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 Australia from the family Celastraceae. The species ''Hedraianthera porphyropetala'' grows naturally in eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in littoral or sub-tropical

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 ...

north from Ballina, New South Wales to

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs ...

in tropical northeastern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. They grow in gullies or rocky slopes on shallow soils, sometimes enhanced by

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 ...

. The generic name ''Hedraianthera'' is from Greek, it refers to the flower

anther 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 filam ...

s without stalks. The specific epithet ''porphyropetala'' is also from Greek, it alludes to the attractive deep purple coloured flowers, although the species definition includes plants which have different coloured flowers such as green. They are an unusually southern example of

ramiflory In plant biology, ramiflory is the production of fruit and flowers on the woody branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large bran ...

. Previously several publications provided informal scientific descriptions of another species under the provisional scientific name ''Hedraianthera'' sp. Mossman (V.K.Moriarty 2557) Qld Herbarium. In a 2012 published Celastraceae genetics study this provisionally named species was reassigned to the genus ''

Brassiantha ''Brassiantha'' is a genus of flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vess ...

'' and formally scientifically described under the new name ''

Brassiantha hedraiantheroides ''Brassiantha hedraiantheroides'' is a species of Australian understory shrubs or small trees, constituting part of the plant family Celastraceae. In 2012 botanist Andrew J. Ford formally scientifically named and described them as the first reco ...

'', after its likeness to ''Hedraianthera''. Though still relatively closely related the two species were found to be constitutive of different

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

. ''H. porphyropetala'' here, again became the only known species in this genus and now ''Brassiantha'' constituted not only by the one, but instead by only the two known species, this forementioned ''B. hedraiantheroides'' and the

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

n '' B. pentamera''. ''B. hedraiantheroides'' grows naturally only (

) in a restricted area of the wet tropics region of northeastern Queensland, Australia. It grows as an understory shrub or small tree in rainforests and sclerophyll forests, from an altitudinal range near sea level to .

References

Monotypic Celastrales genera Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Trees of Australia Celastraceae Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller {{Celastraceae-stub