Guioa coriacea

Guioa coriacea , commonly known as cedar or island cedar, is a flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae. The specific epithet refers to the coriaceous (leathery) leaves.[1]

Guioa coriacea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Guioa
Species:
G. coriacea
Binomial name
Guioa coriacea
(Radlk.) Radlk. (1886)[1]
Synonyms
  • Atalaya coriacea Radlk. (1878)
  • Cupania howeana Maiden (1898)

Description

It is a tree growing to 15 m in height. The shiny paripinnate leaves, with under-rolled edges and 1–4 pairs of leaflets, are 30–110 mm long, 12–50 mm wide. The white, tinged pink, 6 mm long flowers occur in clusters from December to February. The fruits are green-brown, 3-lobed woody capsules, 25 mm long. The small black seeds are 1–1.5 mm long and covered with a fleshy orange aril. The trees are often noticeable in early winter because of the orange arils on the seeds that have fallen to the ground.[1][2]

Distribution and habitat

The species is endemic to Australia’s subtropical Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea where it is common in sheltered lowland forest.[1][2]

References
  1. " Guioa coriacea ". Flora of Australia Online: Data derived from Flora of Australia Volume 49 (1994). Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS). Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  2. Hutton, Ian (1998). The Australian Geographic Book of Lord Howe Island. Sydney: Australian Geographic. p. 145. ISBN 1-876276-27-4.


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