''Syzygium alliiligneum'', commonly known as onionwood, Mission Beach satinash or bark in the wood is a species of plant in the family

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

. It 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 a small part of north eastern

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_ ...

Description

''Syzygium alliiligneum'' is a large rainforest tree growing up to in height in natural forest habitats, but in cultivation may only reach . The trunk may be

fluted Fluting may refer to: *Fluting (architecture) * Fluting (firearms) * Fluting (geology) * Fluting (glacial) *Fluting (paper) Arts, entertainment, and media *Fluting on the Hump ''Fluting on the Hump'' is the first album by avant-garde band Kin ...

and may have

buttresses A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (si ...

, and the exposed bark is papery and usually pale grey, while newly-exposed bark is pale pink or orange. The foliage is glossy, dark green above and lighter green below. Individual leaves are arranged in opposing pairs on the twigs and measure up to . They are broadly

elliptic In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special type of ellipse in ...

obovate 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 ...

with an

acuminate 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 ...

tip.

Inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s are

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...

or axillary

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, produced from February to April, with white to cream flowers about across. The fruits are more or less

globular A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars. Globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards their centers. They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of member ...

red to pink

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

measuring up to containing a single large seed. They ripen from May to October.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described by Bernard "Bernie" Hyland and published in the ''

Australian Journal of Botany The ''Australian Journal of Botany'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by CSIRO Publishing. It covers all areas of plant biology, with a focus on Southern Hemisphere ecosystems. The editor-in-chief is Dick Williams (Commonwealth Sci ...

'' in 1983. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

was collected by Hyland in 1972 beside the

Palmerston Highway The Palmerston Highway (State Route 25), serves as a link between the southern part of the Atherton Tablelands and the Far North Queensland coastal strip, in Australia. Starting just north of Innisfail, from the Bruce Highway it winds through ...

west of Innisfail.

Etymology

The

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 ...

name ''Syzygium'' comes from the Greek word '' syzgos'', meaning "jointed" and is a reference to the paired leaves displayed by members of the genus. The species epithet ''alliiligneum'' is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

allium ''Allium'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants that includes hundreds of species, including the cultivated onion, garlic, scallion, shallot, leek, and chives. The generic name ''Allium'' is the Latin word for garlic,Gledhill, Davi ...

'', for "

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

", and '' lignum'', for "wood". Cross-sections of the trunk shows onion-like rings of bark in the wood.

Distribution and Habitat

''Syzygium alliiligneum'' is endemic to coastal

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 ...

ed areas of north east Queensland, from

Cape Tribulation Cape Tribulation is a headland and coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas in northern Queensland, Australia. In the , Cape Tribulation had a population of 118 people. Geography The locality is north of Cairns. It is within the Daintree Na ...

in the north to Tully in the south. It is mostly found from

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

up to around , and occasionally up to .

Ecology

The fruits of onionwood are eaten by cassowaries, who are probably the only dispersal agent for the species. They are also edible by humans, although sour.

Conservation

This species is listed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science as

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

. , it has not been assessed by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Cultivation

About 60 trees of this species have been planted as street trees in various parts of Cairns.

Gallery

File:Syzygium-alliiligneum-SF22323-02.jpg , Fruits beginning to develop just after flowering File:Syzygium-alliiligneum-SF22314-01.jpg , Ripe fruits File:Syzygium-alliiligneum-SF22323-03.jpg , Foliage File:Syzygium-alliiligneum-SF22324-01.jpg , Trunk with papery bark File:Syzygium-alliiligneum-SF22324-02.jpg , Small buttresses File:Syzygiumalliiligneum.JPG , Tall specimen at Mission Beach File:Syzygium-alliiligneum-SF22324-04.jpg , Leaves File:syzalfruit.jpg , Fruit on the forest floor File:satinashfruits.jpg , Fruit soaking at nursery

References

External links

* *
View a map
of historical sightings of this species at the

Australasian Virtual Herbarium The ''Australasian Virtual Herbarium'' (AVH) is an online resource that allows access to plant specimen data held by various Australian and New Zealand herbaria. It is part of the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), and was formed by the amalgamat ...

View observations
of this species on

iNaturalist iNaturalist is a social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe. iNaturalist may be accessed via its website or from its mobile applic ...

View images
of this species on Flickriver {{Taxonbar , from=Q15382386 alliiligneum Endemic flora of Queensland Taxa named by Bernard Hyland Taxa described in 1983 Myrtales of Australia Trees of Australia Australian cuisine