''Melicope jonesii'' is a species of tree in the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Derm ...

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 north-east Queensland. It has

trifoliate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

leaves and greenish or cream-coloured flowers borne in short

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 in leaf axils.

Description

''Melicope jonesii'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of . The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs and trifoliate on a petiole long. The leaflets are elliptical, long and wide. The flowers are arranged in panicles long in leaf axils and are

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 ...

, the

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 round and about long and fused at the base, the

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 greenish or cream-coloured, long and there are four

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. Flowering has been recorded in January and February and the fruit consists of up to four follicles long and fused at the base containing shiny black seeds.

Taxonomy

''Melicope jonesii'' was first formally described in 2001 by

Thomas Gordon Hartley Thomas Gordon Hartley (9 January 1931 in Beaumont, Texas – 8 March 2016 in Canberra, Australia) was an American botanist. Biography In 1955 Hartley graduated in botany with the academic degree Bachelor of Science at the University of Wisconsin-E ...

in the journal ''Allertonia'' from specimens collected in 1979 by

Bruce Gray Bruce Gray (September 7, 1936 – December 13, 2017) was a Canadian actor, known for multiple roles in films and television shows for over 5 decades. Early Years Gray was born in Puerto Rico and lived in Toronto after 1949. He graduated from ...

. 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 ...

(''jonesii'') honours the botanist William T. Jones (1908–1970).

Distribution and habitat

This melicope grows in rainforest at altitudes of from near the

Daintree National Park The Daintree rainforest is a national park in Far North Queensland, Australia, northwest of Brisbane and northwest of Cairns. It was founded in 1981 and is part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland. In 1988 it became a World Heritage Site. The par ...

to near the

Ella Bay National Park Ella Bay is a national park beside Ella Bay and spans the localities of Wanjuru in the Cassowary Coast Region and Eubenangee in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. Geography The park is 1329 km northwest of Brisbane. It is part ...

Conservation status

This species is classified 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 ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18083584 jonesii Sapindales of Australia Flora of Queensland Plants described in 2001 Taxa named by Thomas Gordon Hartley