Scale bar 10mm. Copyright CSIRO

 
Leaves and male flowers. Copyright CSIRO

 
10th leaf stage. Copyright CSIRO

 
Cotyledon stage, epigeal germination. Copyright CSIRO

Phyllanthus brassii

Family

Phyllanthaceae

Botanical Name

Phyllanthus brassii C.T.White

White, C.T. (1936) Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 47: 81. Type: Queensland, Thornton Peak, 14 Mar. 1932, L. J. Brass 2303; holo: BRI?.

Common name

Phyllanthus

Stem

Usually flowers and fruits as a shrub about 1-2 m tall.

Leaves

Leaves arranged on lateral shoots which resemble compound leaves. Leaves alternate and not spirally arranged on the twigs. Petioles with a central ridge and two channels on the upper surface. Lateral veins forming distinct loops well inside the blade margin. 'Normal Form' - leaf blades about 6-12 x 3-4.5 cm, petioles about 0.3-0.6 cm long. 'Rheophytic Form' - leaf blades linear to oblanceolate, about 6.5-8 x 0.9-1.2 cm, petioles about 0.4-0.6 cm long.

Flowers

Pedicels up to 25 mm long, usually nodding. Four glands alternate with the stamens in the male flowers. Anthers borne on exceedingly long slender filaments about 15-20 mm long. Anther locules almost completely separated from one another. Ovary seated on a fleshy disk.

Fruit

Fruiting pedicels about 15-25 mm long. Fruits about 4-5 mm diam. Perianth remnants persistent at the base of the fruit. Seeds about 2 x 1.5 x 1 mm. Embryo shaped like a table tennis bat, cotyledons much wider than the radicle. Cotyledons about 1.5 x 1 mm, radicle about 1 mm long.

Seedlings

Cotyledons about 5 x 3 mm, petioles about 1.5 mm long. First leaf obovate to elliptic, apex obtuse, base cuneate to attenuate, leaf blades about 12 x 3 mm. At the tenth leaf stage: oil dots visible with a lens. Lateral veins forming loops inside the blade margin. Stipules broadly triangular, about 1 mm long.

Distribution and Ecology

Endemic to Queensland, occurs in NEQ with an isolated occurrence in south-eastern Queensland. Altitudinal range in NEQ from 300-1300 m. Grows as an understory plant in mountain rain forest, usually on creek banks. This species, as currently recognized, occurs in two forms. A broad-leafed 'normal form' and a narrow-leafed 'rheophytic form'.

NEQ

X

Herb (herbaceous or woody, under 1 m tall)

X

Shrub (woody or herbaceous, 1-6 m tall)

X

RFK Code

3085