Fontainea fugax is a shrub endemic to Queensland, in the family, Euphorbiaceae, growing up to 4 m. In 1997, F. fugax was considered "endangered" having been found in only in the central Burnett district and within an endangered community, threatened by weeds, repeated fires and clearing.[2]
| Fontainea fugax | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
| Genus: | Fontainea |
| Species: | F. fugax
|
| Binomial name | |
| Fontainea fugax | |
Description
editFontainea fugax is a dioecious shrub growing to 4 m. The stems have a clear exudate. New shoots have sparse, antrorse (upward pointing) trichomes. There are no stipules and the leaves have petioles. The upper surfaces of the leaves are dark-green and the lower surfaces, pale-green. This plant is very like Fontainea rostrata, but differs in that the base of the petiole is not swollen; the male flowers are shorter than those of F. rostrata (6-8 mm vs 11-13 mm); the number of stamens is 24 (versus 28–40); the beak of the endocarp is shorter (1-1.7 mm vs 2-3 mm) and the faces between the sutures of the endocarp are weakly corrugated (weakly rugose versus strongly rugose).[2]
Distribution and habitat
editFontainea fugax is known only from an area between Gayndah and Mundubbera, in south-east Queensland, with plants growing as understorey shrubs in a semi-evergreen vine thicket dominated by Backhousia kingii.[2]
Taxonomy and naming
editThe plant was first described by Paul Irwin Forster in "Three new species of Fontainea Heckel (Euphorbiaceae) from Australia and Papua New Guinea".[1][2] The holotype AQ 650045 was collected on February 9, 1994, on the Gurgeena Plateau (Burnett district, Queensland) at a height of 360 m.[3]
The specific epithet, fugax, derives from the Latin for "fleeting" and refers to the fleeting flowering material of this species, with female flowers not having been seen.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b "Fontainea fugax". Australian Plant Name Index, IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
- ^ a b c d e f Forster, P.I. (1997) Three new species of Fontainea Heckel (Euphorbiaceae) from Australia and Papua New Guinea. Austrobaileya 5, 34-36, Fig. 3. JSTOR Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ Holotype of Fontainea fugax P.I.Forst. 9family EUPHORBIACEAE) JSTOR Global Plants. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
External links
edit
Data related to Fontainea fugax at Wikispecies
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