'' Melicope littoralis '', commonly known as shade tree, is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Rutaceae 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 ...

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

. 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 small white flowers borne in leaf axils 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 of a few to many flowers.

Description

''Melicope littoralis'' is a shrub or tree that typically grows to a height of . It has mostly trifoliate leaves arranged in opposite pairs and long on a petiole long, the leaflets elliptical to egg-shaped, long and wide. The flowers are arranged in groups of a few to many, in panicles long and wide on a peduncle long. The flowers are borne on

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

long, 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 egg-shaped, long and joined 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 white, 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. The fruit consists of up to four follicles up to long and fused at the base, the seeds about long.

Taxonomy

The shade tree was first formally described in 1833 by

Stephan Endlicher Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher also known as Endlicher István László (24 June 1804, Bratislava (Pozsony) – 28 March 1849, Vienna) was an Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. Bio ...

who gave it the name ''Euodia littoralis'' and published the description in his book ''Prodromus Florae Norfolkicae''. In 2001, Thomas Gordon Hartley changed the name to ''Melicope littoralis'' in the journal ''Allertonia''.

Distribution and habitat

This species is endemic to Norfolk Island where it grows in coastal and inland forest. It is most often seen in the

Norfolk Island National Park Norfolk Island National Park is a protected area of located at in the South Pacific Ocean, about off the East coast of Australia. The park’s area includes the Mount Pitt section on the namesake Norfolk Island with an area of / , as well a ...

Conservation status

''Melicope littoralis'' is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government '' Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15393853 littoralis Flora of Norfolk Island Plants described in 1833 Sapindales of Australia Taxa named by Stephan Endlicher