''Myrsine richmondensis'', known as the ripple leaf muttonwood or purple-leaf muttonwood, is a very rare shrub of coastal areas of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

; from

Coraki Coraki is a small town that sits on the confluence of the Richmond and Wilson Rivers in northern New South Wales, Australia in Richmond Valley Shire. At the 2016 census, Coraki had a population of 1,277 people. Material was copied from this ...

on the Richmond River north to Mount Warning.

Description

A shrub to small tree to around 5 metres tall, with a cylindrical trunk and many root suckers. Bark is grey or brown, mostly smooth with elongated cream coloured lenticles. Small branches are mostly rounded in shape with scattered hairs, or hairless. Adult and juveniles leaves are wavy edged but not toothed. Alternate on the stem, simple and elliptic in shape, 4 to 14 cm long. Leaf stems 3 to 8 mm long. Leaves taper to a blunt point. Mid rib is raised on both sides. Leaves have numerous yellow or red dots, or similarly coloured streak patterns.

Flowers and regeneration

Greenish white flowers form in bundles of four or five, amongst the leaves or on old wood. Flower stalks are not hairy, 0.5 to 1 mm long. The flowering period is mostly around September to January. Fruit mature between November and January; being a 3 to 4 mm diameter

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

. Regeneration from roots suckers should occur readily. Germination from fresh seed occurs without difficulty. Removal of the fleshy

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 ...

is recommended to assist seed germination.

Taxonomy

First collected by colonial botanists by

William Baeuerlen William Baeuerlen was a German botanical collector and explorer. He was born in Niedernhall as Leonhard Carl Wilhelm Bäuerlen. He became Ferdinand von Mueller's botanical collector in Australia from the 1880s, and later the collector for Josep ...

near Coraki in January 1892. Published by Betsy Jackes in 2005.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17250318 richmondensis Flora of New South Wales Ericales of Australia Trees of Australia Plants described in 2005 Taxa named by Betsy Rivers Jackes