Harpullia ramiflora


Harpullia ramiflora, commonly known as the Claudie tulipwood or Cape York tulipwood, is a species of plant in the lychee family Sapindaceae, native to parts of Malesia, New Guinea, and northeast Queensland, Australia. It was first described in 1877, and is now cultivated as a street and garden plant in Australia. It has a conservation status of 'least concern'.

Description

The Claudie tulipwood is a small tree growing up to high and a DBH of. The dark green, glossy, compound leaves have 8 to 12 leaflets, and are quite large. The ovate to elliptic leaflets are also fairly large, reaching up to.
The inflorescences are initially axillary, later as the leaves fall they become ramiflorous. They are panicles up to long, and carry numerous flowers about in diameter, with a green caylyx and 4 or 5 white or cream reflexed petals.
The bright red fruits are two-valved capsules about long by wide. Each valve contains a single black seed which is almost or completely covered by a bright yellow aril.

Phenology

In Australia, flowering occurs from October to July, and fruits ripen from April to November.

Taxonomy

This species was first described in 1877 by the German botanist Ludwig Adolph Timotheus Radlkofer. His paper, titled Über die Sapindaceen Holländisch-Indiens, was published in 1879 in the work Actes du congrès international de botanistes, d'horticulteurs, de négociants et de fabricants de produits du règne végétal tenu à Amsterdam en 1877.

Distribution and habitat

Harpullia ramiflora is native to the island of Catanduanes in the Philippines, the island of Halmahera and the Aru Islands in the Maluku Islands, New Guinea, and Cape York Peninsula in Australia. It grows in rainforest and gallery forest.
In Australia the range of this species was originally from the top of Cape York to near Rossville, but after extensive planting throughout the city of Cairns it has become naturalised in the areas around the city.

Conservation

, this species has been assessed to be of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and by the Queensland Government under its Nature Conservation Act. The justification provide by the IUCN for its assessment is that the plant is found in a range of habitats across a large area of almost — including some protected areas — and that no specific threats have been identified for the plant.

Cultivation

This tree has been widely planted in the suburbs of Cairns, Queensland, particularly in the streets of Smithfield and Trinity Park. It prefers full sun to semi-shade and can tolerate waterlogged soils. It can be propagated from seed.