Acronychia aberrans

Acronychia aberrans, commonly known as acid berry, lemon aspen, plasticine tree or plasticene aspen,[2] is a species of medium-sized rainforest tree that is endemic to north-eastern Queensland. It has simple leaves on stems that are more or less square in cross-section, flowers in small groups in leaf axils and fleshy, more or less spherical fruit.

Acid berry
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Acronychia
Species:
A. aberrans
Binomial name
Acronychia aberrans

Description

Acronychia aberrans is a tree that typically grows to a height of 10 m (33 ft). Its leafy stems are more or less square in cross-section, giving the appearance of having been sqeezed like plasticine. The leaves are simple, elliptic to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 60–230 mm (2.4–9.1 in) long and 30–103 mm (1.2–4.1 in) wide on a petiole 15–55 mm (0.59–2.17 in) long. The flowers are arranged in small groups 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in) long in leaf axils, each flower on a pedicel 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long. The sepals are about 1.5 mm (0.059 in) wide, the four petals 7–9 mm (0.28–0.35 in) long and the eight stamens alternate in length. Flowering occurs from February to April and the fruit is a fleshy, more or less spherical or pear-shaped drupe 13–16 mm (0.51–0.63 in) long.[3][4]

Taxonomy

Acronychia aberrans was first formally described in 1974 by Thomas Gordon Hartley in the Journal of the Arnold Arboretum from specimens collected by Bernard Hyland on the Atherton Tableland.[5] The specific epithet is a reference to the unusual shape of the branchlets.[6]

Distribution and habitat

This tree grows in rainforest between the Mount Spurgeon National Park and the Atherton Tableland, at altitudes from 720 to 100 m (2,360 to 330 ft).[3]

Conservation status

Acid berry is classified as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.[2]

References
  1. "Acronychia aberrans". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  2. "Species profile - Acronychia aberrans (acid berry)". Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  3. Hartley, Thomas G.; Wilson, Annette J.G. (ed.) (2013). Flora of Australia (Volume 26). Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study. p. 115. Retrieved 1 July 2020.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  4. "Acronychia aberrans". Australian National Botanic Gardens - Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  5. "Acronychia aberrans". APNI. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  6. Hartley, Thomas G. (1974). "A revision of the genus Acronychia (Rutaceae)". Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. 55 (3): 518–519. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
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