''Quassia'' sp. 'Mount Nardi' is a plant found in north eastern

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 ...

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 ...

. An uncommon to rare plant, yet to be formally named. The original specimen was collected at Mount Nardi, not far from Nimbin, Australia. It grows below

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 ...

, in high rainfall areas. Often found at altitudes around 650 metres above sea level, on soils based on

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The mineral ...

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 ...

. It grows between Dorrigo in the south to the Tweed River in the north. A bush up to 5 metres tall with a stem diameter of 10 cm. Often seen with two or more stems. Leaves are smooth edged, 8 to 16 cm long and 1.5 to 3 cm wide. A fairly dull green above and yellow green below the leaf. The midrib vein is darker on the bottom side, but paler above. An intramarginal leaf vein is parallel to the edge of the leaf, starting from the termination of the lateral leaf veins. Reddish/green flowers form on slender stalks, from July to February. The fruit is an attractive orange or red

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'') ...

, 15 to 20 mm long. Germination from fresh seed can take up to six months, but some seeds will germinate within three weeks.

References

External links

* Quassia Flora of New South Wales Undescribed plant species {{Sapindales-stub