Dodonaea malvacea


Dodonaea malvacea is a species of plant in the family Sapindaceae and is endemic to a Queensland. It is a shrub with oblong, elliptic or egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, flowers arranged singly or in small racemes with linear or egg-shaped sepals and eight to ten stamens, and four to eight narrowly winged capsules.

Description

Dodonaea malvacea is a shrub that typically grows to a height of up to. Its leaves are oblong, elliptic or egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide, on a petiole long. The flowers are arranged singly or in small open racemes on the ends of branches, each flower on a pedicel up to long. The flowers have five to seven linear to egg-shaped sepals, long and eight to ten stamens. The ovary is covered with soft hairs and has six to eight lobes. The fruit is a four to eight lobed, elliptic capsule long and wide with four to eight narrow wings.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1927 by Karel Domin, who gave it the name Distichostemon malvaceus in Bibliotheca Botanica, from specimens collected on the Cape York Peninsula by William Hann. In 2010, M.G. Harrington transferred the species to Dodonaea as D. malvacea.

Distribution and habitat

This species of Dodonaea grows in open forest on sandy and gravelly ridges on Cape York Peninsula, between Heathlands Regional Park north of Shelburne, and Mareeba.

Conservation status

Dodonaea malvacea is listed as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.