Syzygium canicortex
Syzygium canicortex, commonly known as yellow satinash, is a tree in the family Myrtaceae native to Queensland, Australia, first described in 1983.
Description
Syzygium canicortex is a tree growing up to about tall and diameter, and the trunks may be buttressed or fluted. Leaves are arranged in opposite pairs on small twigs about diameter. They are ovate to elliptic and usually have an unusually long. They measure on average about long by wide, and are held on a petiole up to long. New growth is deep red, transitioning to green.
Flowers are most often produced in the and are mostly solitary, rarely in a few-flowered raceme. The developing bud is covered by a cap which is shed at maturity along with the attached petals. The hypanthium tapers slowly into the pedicel, the stamens are numerous, yellow, and about long. The style is about long. The fruit is, in botanical terms, a berry, red, about diameter, and contains a single seed.
Taxonomy
This plant was first described in 1983 by the Australian botanist Bernard Hyland, as part of a major review of the genus and some relatives. His paper, titled "A revision of Syzygium and allied genera in Australia", was published in the Australian Journal of Botany.
Etymology
The genus name Syzygium comes from the Greek word syzgos, meaning "joined" and is a reference to the paired leaves displayed by members of the genus. The species epithet canicortex was given as a reference to the grey cortex.
Distribution and habitat
The yellow satinash is endemic to Queensland, and is found along the coast and coastal ranges from the area near Rossville south to the Paluma Range National Park. It grows in rainforest at altitudes from about to, often on granite soils.
Conservation
Syzygium canicortex is listed as least concern under the Queensland Government's Nature Conservation Act., it has not been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Uses
This species has been used in the past as a structural timber, sold under the name 'Yellow Satinash'. The wood has a specific gravity of 0.7 to 0.73.