''Hicksbeachia'' is a genus of two species of
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s in the family
Proteaceae. They are native to rainforests of northern
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 ...
and southeastern
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
, establishe ...
.
[ They are commonly known as red bopple nut or beef nut due to the bright red colour of their fruits.
]
Taxonomy
Ferdinand von Mueller named the genus in 1883 in honour of Michael Hicks Beach who had been Secretary of State for the Colonies.[ Mueller named several genera, including '']Buckinghamia
''Buckinghamia'' is a genus of only two known species of trees, belonging to the plant family Proteaceae. They are endemic to the rainforests of the wet tropics region of north eastern Queensland, Australia. The ivory curl flower, ''B. celsissi ...
'', ''Cardwellia
''Cardwellia'' is a genus of a sole described species of large trees in the plant family Proteaceae. The species ''Cardwellia sublimis'' (northern silky oak) is endemic to the rainforests of the wet tropics region of northeastern Queensland, A ...
'', '' Carnarvonia'' and '' Hollandaea'', after Colonial Secretaries of the time. He described the type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...
'' Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia'' at the time. The genus was considered monotypic until Peter Weston split the north Queensland population as a separate species '' H. pilosa'' in 1988.Bleasdalea
''Bleasdalea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae.
Taxonomy
Molecular and morphological analysis shows this genus is most closely related to the genus '' Hicksbeachia'', ancestors of the two genera having diverged around 15 ...
'', ancestors of the two genera having diverged around 15 million years ago in the Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
. Furthermore, the common ancestor of these genera is thought to have arisen in South America around 35 million years ago in the Oligocene, leaving other branches diversifying into ''Gevuina
''Gevuina avellana'' (Chilean hazelnut ( in Spanish), or ''Gevuina hazelnut''), is an evergreen tree, up to 20 meters (65 feet) tall. It is the only species currently classified in the genus ''Gevuina''. It is native to southern Chile and adjace ...
'' and '' Euplassa''.Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
through to Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
deposits from the northern Antarctic Peninsula, and from late Cretaceous deposits in the Otway Basin
The Otway Basin is a northwest trending sedimentary basin located along the southern coast of Australia. The basin covers an area of 150,000 square kilometers and spans from southeastern South Australia to southwestern Victoria, with 80% lying off ...
in Western Victoria. Leaf cuticles comparable to ''Hicksbeachia'' have been recovered from the Miocene Manuherikia Group
The Manuherikia Group is a fluvial- lacustrine sedimentary fill in the Central Otago area of New Zealand, at the site of the prehistoric Lake Manuherikia. The area consists of a valley and ridge topography, with a series of schist-greywacke mountai ...
of Central Otago in New Zealand's South Island.
Species
*'' Hicksbeachia pilosa''
*'' Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia''
Neither of the two species is common. ''H. pinnatifolia'' is the one more commonly grown, due to its edible nuts.[Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan .]
Description
Both species are small single-trunked trees reaching a maximum height of . Their leaves are pinnate
Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...
in shape and arranged alternately along the branches. The flowers are arranged in drooping inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...
s, and emit strong odours around nightfall, which have been likened to honey, sour milk, cat's urine, or mice.
Distribution and habitat
Both species are found in rainforest in eastern Australia.[ ''H. pinnatifolia'' is found in north-eastern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland, and ''H. pilosa'' is found in the Wet Tropics rainforests of north-eastern Queensland.]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5751433
Proteaceae
Proteaceae genera
Proteales of Australia
Trees of Australia
Flora of Queensland
Flora of New South Wales