Melicope fellii

Melicope fellii is a species of tree in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It has trifoliate leaves and pink flowers borne in short panicles in leaf axils.

Description

Melicope fellii is a tree that typically grows to a height of. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs and trifoliate on a petiole long. The leaflets are egg-shaped to elliptical, long and wide. The flowers are arranged in panicles long in leaf axils. The flowers are bisexual, the sepals about long and fused at the base, the petals pink, about long and there are four stamens. Flowering has been recorded in July and the fruit consists of four follicles long and fused at the base.

Taxonomy

Melicope fellii was first formally described in 2001 by Thomas Gordon Hartley in the journal Allertonia from specimens collected in 1997 by Paul Irwin Forster and others. The specific epithet honours David G. Fell who collected specimens during a rainforest survey.

Distribution and habitat

This melicope grows in rainforest at altitudes of on Cape York Peninsula where it is only known from two collections.

Conservation status

This species is classified as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.