Acronychia suberosa

Acronychia suberosa is a rainforest plant in the citrus family. It grows in eastern Australia. The common name is the Corky Acronychia.[1] The specific epithet suberosa means corky, referring to the bark on older trees.

Corky Acronychia
Trunk, at Coffs Harbour
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Sapindales
Family:
Rutaceae
Genus:
Acronychia
Species:
A. suberosa
Binomial name
Acronychia suberosa

Growing from the Richmond River, New South Wales to just over the border at the McPherson Range in south eastern Queensland. The habitat is sub-tropical or warm temperate rainforest on basalt soils in high rainfall areas.

Description

The Acronychia suberosa is a small to medium-sized tree up to 20 metres in height and a stem diameter of 30 cm, with a thick dark crown of leaves.[2]

The trunk is mostly cylindrical, but occasionally with flanges at the base. Bark is brown or red-brown, usually smooth. Though larger trees have some corky patches. Small branchlets are wrinkled length-ways, they have with brown furry hairs on the ends. Pale dots may also be seen.

Foliage

Leaves form in threes, or sometimes in twos. Opposite or alternate on the stem. 4 to 8 cm long 1 to 3 cm wide. Leaves are hairless with a short point, or a rounded end. Leaflets without a stalk, but the compound leaf has a stalk between 1 and 3 cm long. There are cracks and narrow raised corky growths around the stalks of the older leaves. Leaf veins are visible both sides, the midrib is raised below the leaf, but sunken on the top side.

Reproductive structures
Fruit of Acronychia suberosa

White flowers form from January to April in axillary cymes, usually in threes. The cymes are usually shorter than the leaflets.

Fruit matures from March to June. A cream or white drupe, 1.3 mm in diameter, angled and ribbed. Fruit is edible but acidic.[3] Inside the fruit are black or red/brown seeds, 4 mm long. Removal of the flesh from the seed is advised for regeneration. Around 30% of the seeds may germinate in five months.

References
  1. "Acronychia suberosa". PlantNET - NSW Flora Online. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  2. Floyd, A.G., Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia, Inkata Press 2008, ISBN 978-0-9589436-7-3 page 349
  3. "Food Plants International".
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