Neostrearia


Neostrearia is a monotypic genus - i.e. a genus containing only one species - of plants in the witch-hazel family Hamamelidaceae. It is the second described of three monotypic Australian genera in this family, the others being Ostrearia and Noahdendron. It is most closely related to these genera, as well as Trichocladus from southern Africa and Dicoryphe from Madagascar, and together these five genera form a distinct clade within Hamamelidaceae.
The sole species in this genus is Neostrearia fleckeri, described in 1958 and endemic to the rainforests of northeastern Queensland, Australia.

Description

Neostrearia fleckeri is a small tree growing to tall, and it may be buttressed. The leaves are simple and alternate, and measure up to long by wide. They are glossy green above and glaucous below, with a petiole up to long and very fine, hair-like stipules about long.
The inflorescence is and it takes the form of a spike. It is about long, bearing about 40–50 small sessile flowers. The are densely covered in very fine brown hairs, and about long. The petals are creamy-yellow to white, about long and wide, with an irregular, crinkled appearance.
The fruit is a dark brown, woody capsule about long by wide. Each of the two segments of the capsule contains one or two small black seeds about long.

Taxonomy

This species was described by the Australian botanist Lindsay Stuart Smith, based on material collected from Babinda Creek in 1949 by the Cairns medical practitioner, naturalist, and founder of the Flecker Herbarium, Dr. Hugo Flecker. Smith's paper was published in the journal Proceedings of the [Royal Society of Queensland] in 1958.

Etymology

The genus name Neostrearia is a combination of "neo" meaning new, and Ostrearia, the pre-existing, closely related genus. The species epithet fleckeri is in honour of Hugo Flecker, who collected the type specimen.

Distribution and habitat

The distribution of this species is very limited, confined to coastal and sub-coastal parts of northeast Queensland from the Daintree River in the north, to near Innisfail, about south. The recorded collections and observations suggest it only occurs at the two extremities of that range. It grows in well developed rainforest on lowlands and foothills up to, often close to creeks and rivers.

Conservation

This species is listed by the Queensland Government's Department of [Environment, Science and Innovation (Queensland)|Department of Environment, Science and Innovation] as near threatened., it has not been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.