Flindersia brayleyana
{{Short description|Species of tree}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Queensland maple
|image = Flindersia brayleyana IMG 2048.jpg
|genus = Flindersia
|species = brayleyana
|authority = F.Muell.{{cite web |title=Flindersia brayleyana |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/87707|publisher=Australian Plant Census |accessdate= 16 July 2020}}
|synonyms =
- Flindersia brayleana W.E.Cooper orth. var.
- Flindersia chatawaiana F.M.Bailey orth. var.
- Flindersia chatawayana F.M.Bailey
}}
File:Flindersia braylelana.jpg
Flindersia brayleyana, commonly known as Queensland maple, maple silkwood or red beech,{{cite web |author1=F.A.Zich |author2=B.P.M.Hyland |author3=T.Whiffen |author4=R.A.Kerrigan |author2-link=Bernard Hyland |year=2020 |url=https://apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/entities/Flindersia_brayleyana.htm |title=Flindersia brayleyana |website=Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8) |publisher=Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government |access-date=25 June 2021}} is a species of tree in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to northern Queensland. It has pinnate leaves with between six and ten leaflets, panicles of white or cream-coloured flowers and smooth fruit that opens in five sections to release winged seeds.
Description
Flindersia brayleyana is a tree that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|35|m}}. It has pinnate leaves arranged in more or less opposite pairs with between six and ten egg-shaped to elliptical leaflets that are {{cvt|80–185|mm}} long and {{cvt|30–80|mm}} wide on petiolules {{cvt|10–25|mm}} long. The leaves have many conspicuous oil dots. The flowers are arranged in panicles {{cvt|120–230|mm}} long, the sepals about {{cvt|0.5|mm}} long and the petals white or cream-coloured, {{cvt|2.5–3.5|mm}} long. The fruit is a smooth, woody capsule {{cvt|60–100|mm}} long that splits into five at maturity, releasing seeds {{cvt|45–60|mm}} long.{{cite book |last=Hartley |first=T.G. |editor-last=Wilson |editor-first=A.J.G. |title=Flora of Australia |volume=26 |chapter=Meliaceae |date=2013 |publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study |location=Canberra |page=65 |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Flindersia%20brayleyana |accessdate=17 July 2020}}
Taxonomy
Flindersia brayleyana was first formally described in 1866 by Ferdinand von Mueller in Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected near the Herbert River by John Dallachy.{{cite web|title=Flindersia brayleyana |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/instance/apni/507953 |website=Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) |publisher=Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government |accessdate=17 June 2025}} The specific epithet (brayleyana) honours Edward William Brayley.{{cite book |last1=von Mueller |first1=Ferdinand |title=Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae |date=1866 |publisher=Victorian Government Printer |location=Melbourne |pages=143–144 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/7222#page/152/mode/1up |accessdate=17 July 2020}}
Distribution and habitat
Queensland maple grows in rainforest at altitudes between {{cvt|30 and 1100|m}} between the Daintree River and Rockingham Bay.
Conservation status
Flindersia brayleyana is classified as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.{{cite web |title=Species profile—Flindersia brayleyana (Queensland maple)|url=https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species-search/details/?id=11301 |publisher=Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science |accessdate=17 July 2020}}
Uses
Queensland maple produces a good quality, decorative cabinet timber and has been used in the manufacture of propellers and plywood in Mosquito bomber aircraft{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}} and in acoustic guitars.{{cite web |title=Maton Timber & Tonewoods |url=https://maton.com.au/timbers/ |website=Maton |access-date=17 June 2025}} However most specimens are protected in World Heritage areas, the timber is now in very short supply, and attempts to grow the tree in plantations have failed. Its heartwood is pink to brownish pink whilst the narrow sapwood band is white to pale grey.{{cite web |title=Queensland Maple |work=Timber Species |publisher=Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland Government |year=2006 |url=http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/hardwoodsqld/8247.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624160410/http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/hardwoodsqld/8247.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-06-24 }}{{cite web |title=Queensland Maple |url=https://www.wood-database.com/queensland-maple/ |publisher=Eric Meier |accessdate=17 July 2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons-inline|italic=1}}
- [https://avh.ala.org.au/occurrences/search?taxa=Flindersia+brayleyana#tab_mapView Flindersia brayleyana: Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium]
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Category:Sapindales of Australia