Acronychia littoralis

Scented Acronychia
fruit, a drupe
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Acronychia
Species: A. littoralis
Binomial name
Acronychia littoralis
Brunonia 1983

Acronychia littoralis is a shrub or small tree growing at the eastern coastal parts of Australia. The Scented Acronychia or Beach Acronychia grows naturally in north eastern New South Wales and a few areas in adjacent Queensland. It is considered endangered by extinction with a ROTAP rating of 3EC.

Habitat

Growing to around 8 metres tall on littoral rainforest on sand between Iluka, NSW and Fraser Island in Queensland. Much of the habitat of Acronychia littoralis was destroyed for seaside housing and development.

Description

The trunk is grey, cylindrical and straight. Leaves are typical of the Acronychia group, being 5 to 16 cm long, 3 to 7 cm wide with a rounded and sometimes notched ending. The yellowish flowers appear in summer.

The fruit matures in autumn, being around 10 to 20 mm in diameter. The lemon coloured fleshy fruit is citrus scented, containing a hard capsule. Within the capsule are usually four cells, many of which are empty. But other cells contain one (or rarely two) pointed black seeds.

Germination

Germination is slow and sometimes difficult. Liberation of the seeds from the fruit capsules improves germination results. This is accomplished by using a sharp knife, and a pin to prize out the enclosed seed.

References

Gallery

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