Alchornea ilicifolia
{{Short description|Species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae}}
{{Use Australian English |date=March 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates |date=March 2023}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Native holly
|image = Alchornea ilicifolia foliage.jpg
|image_caption = At Mount Archer National Park
|status = LC
|status_system = QLDNCA
|status_ref = {{R|DESQLD}}
|genus = Alchornea
|species = ilicifolia
|authority = (J.Sm.) Muell.Arg.
|synonyms =
Homotypic
Heterotypic
- Alchornea thozetiana {{au|(Baill.) Benth.}}
- Alchornea thozetiana var. longifolia {{au|Benth.}}
- Caelebogyne aquifolium {{au|(Js.Sm.) Domin}}
- Caelebogyne thozetiana {{au|(Baill.) Pax & K.Hoffm.}}
- Cladodes thozetiana {{au|Baill.}}
- Sapium aquifolium {{au|Js.Sm.}}
- Sapium berberifolium {{au|Meisn.}}
|synonyms_ref = {{R|POWO}}
}}
Alchornea ilicifolia, commonly known as the native holly, is a bush of eastern Australia. It grows in or on the edges of the drier rainforests in coastal parts of New South Wales and Queensland.
Description
The native holly is a shrub or rarely a small tree up to {{cvt|6|m}} tall. The trunk is usually crooked, with pale grey smooth bark, and some pustules and lenticels. Small branches are greenish or fawn in colour, with paler lenticels.{{R|RBGS|FOA}} The leaves are holly-like in appearance, {{cvt|2|to|8|cm|sigfig=1}} long and {{cvt|2|to|5|cm|sigfig=1}} wide.{{R|RBGS|FOA|RFK}} They are ovate or rhomboidal in shape with three or four acute lobes on each side, each of which is armed with a sharp spine.{{R|RBGS|FOA|RFK}} They are stiff and glabrous with a petiole around {{cvt|3|mm|sigfig=1}} long.{{R|RBGS|FOA|RFK}}
= Flowers and fruit =
Greenish flowers appear in November, on racemes up to {{cvt|5|cm|sigfig=1}} long, with male and female flowers on separate plants.{{R|RBGS|FOA|RFK}} The fruit is a dark brown, three-lobed capsule about {{cvt|6|to|8|mm|sigfig=1}} in diameter, each lobe containing one seed.{{R|RBGS|FOA|RFK}} The plant may flower and fruit at any time of year after rain events.{{R|FOA}}
Taxonomy
The botanist John Smith originally described this species as Caelebogyne ilicifolia in 1839, from three specimens collected by Allan Cunningham in 1829.{{R|BHL}} The Swiss botanist Johann Müller gave it its current name in 1865. The generic name Alchornea honours the English botanist Stanesby Alchorne,{{R|COOPER2}} while the species epithet ilicifolia refers to the holly-like leaves (Ilex).
Distribution and habitat
Ecology
Alchornea ilicifolia is a host plant for the larvae of the common albatross butterfly and the moth Dichomeris mesoctenis.{{R|BRISRAIN|HOSTS}}
Gallery
File:Alchornea ilicifolia flowers and foliage.jpg|Flowers
File:Alchornea ilicifolia flowers.jpg|Flowers
File:Alchornea ilicifolia fruit.jpg|Unripe fruit
File:Alchornea ilicifolia.jpg|Habit
References
{{Portal|Trees}}
{{Reflist|refs=
{{cite web |url=https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species-search/details/?id=18050 |title=Species profile—Alchornea ilicifolia |year=2022 |website=Queensland Department of Environment and Science |publisher=Queensland Government |access-date=31 March 2023}}
{{cite web |url=https://id.biodiversity.org.au/name/apni/80813 |title=Alchornea ilicifolia |website=Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) |publisher=Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government |access-date=31 March 2023}}
{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:338409-1 |title=Alchornea ilicifolia (Js.Sm.) Müll.Arg. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=31 March 2023}}
{{cite web |url=https://apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/entities/Alchornea_ilicifolia.htm |title=Alchornea ilicifolia |author1=F.A.Zich |author2=B.P.M.Hyland |author3=T.Whiffen |author4=R.A.Kerrigan |author2-link=Bernard Hyland |year=2020 |website=Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8) |publisher=Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government |access-date=31 March 2023}}
{{cite web |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Alchornea%20ilicifolia |title=Alchornea ilicifolia |last1=Forster |first1=Paul I. |year=2022 |editor-last1=Moon |editor-first1=C. |editor-last2=Orchard |editor-first2=A.E. |website=Flora of Australia |publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, the Environment and Water: Canberra |access-date=31 March 2023}}
}}
External links
{{Wikispecies}}
{{Commonscat}}
- [https://avh.ala.org.au/occurrences/search?taxa=Alchornea+ilicifolia#tab_mapView View a map] of historical sightings of this species at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium
- [https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations?taxon_id=896470 View observations] of this species on iNaturalist
- [https://flickriver.com/search/Alchornea+ilicifolia View images] of this species on Flickriver
{{Taxonbar|from=Q4713056}}