Oraniopsis
Encyclopedia
Oraniopsis is a monotypic genus
of flowering plant
in the palm
family from Queensland
, Australia
, where the only known species, Oraniopsis appendiculata, grows in mountainous rain forest. Dioecious and extremely slow growing, the name means "similar to Orania" and the Latin
epithet translates to "appendaged".
on short, wide petioles. In dense forests with little light they may be ground rosettes for up to 60 years, and in these conditions the leaf, stretching for sunlight, may elongate to 8 m. The pinnae are deep green above, glaucous below, regularly arranged with one fold. Once trunk forming, the leaf crown is feather-duster shaped, rarely hemispherical, the stiff leaves upward pointing, and usually persistent after dying, forming a skirt around the trunk.
The inflorescence
emerges in the leaf crown and is shorter than the leaves, to 75 cm, with superficially similar male and female flowers on separate plants. From one carpel, the fruit
ripens to yellow or orange with one seed
.
Seed germination is a lengthy process, to a year or more, with some seeds resisting germination to four years. On sprouting, the plant is invariably slow-moving, failing to show trunk height for multiple decades. Unless the rate of growth markedly increases in later life, the biggest specimens in Queensland
are probably several hundred years old.
Despite bearing resemblance to their namesake, this plant is most closely related to the South American palm Ceroxylon
, differing only in the amount of peduncular bracts, the bracteole flowers, and the free, rather than basally fused, petals.
, and as far inland as the Great Dividing Range
southwest of Atherton
. Mostly from 300 to 1500 m, they may be found on rocky hillsides and coastal sands but are most common in rainy, cloudy forests. They often grow in rich organic soil or basalt
ic medium, but are absent from deep soil and open plains.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
family from Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where the only known species, Oraniopsis appendiculata, grows in mountainous rain forest. Dioecious and extremely slow growing, the name means "similar to Orania" and the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
epithet translates to "appendaged".
Description
O. appendiculata trunks are gray, solitary, from 30 to 45 cm wide, usually reaching to 6 m in height, though mature individuals in habitat can reach up to 18 m. It may be, however, 20 or 30 years before an emergent trunk develops. In juvenile life the plant is a ground-level rosette of 3 - 4 m pinnate leavesLeaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
on short, wide petioles. In dense forests with little light they may be ground rosettes for up to 60 years, and in these conditions the leaf, stretching for sunlight, may elongate to 8 m. The pinnae are deep green above, glaucous below, regularly arranged with one fold. Once trunk forming, the leaf crown is feather-duster shaped, rarely hemispherical, the stiff leaves upward pointing, and usually persistent after dying, forming a skirt around the trunk.
The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
emerges in the leaf crown and is shorter than the leaves, to 75 cm, with superficially similar male and female flowers on separate plants. From one carpel, the fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
ripens to yellow or orange with one seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
.
Seed germination is a lengthy process, to a year or more, with some seeds resisting germination to four years. On sprouting, the plant is invariably slow-moving, failing to show trunk height for multiple decades. Unless the rate of growth markedly increases in later life, the biggest specimens in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
are probably several hundred years old.
Despite bearing resemblance to their namesake, this plant is most closely related to the South American palm Ceroxylon
Ceroxylon
Ceroxylon is a genus of flowering plant in the Arecaceae family, native to the Andes in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, known as Andean wax palms....
, differing only in the amount of peduncular bracts, the bracteole flowers, and the free, rather than basally fused, petals.
Distribution and habitat
Found in the Australian rain forest between the Tully River area, down to the Big Tableland south of CooktownCooktown, Queensland
Cooktown is a small town located at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. At the 2006 census, Cooktown had a population of 1,336...
, and as far inland as the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
southwest of Atherton
Atherton, Queensland
Atherton is a town on the Atherton Tablelands of Far North Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Atherton had a population of 7,068.-Roads:...
. Mostly from 300 to 1500 m, they may be found on rocky hillsides and coastal sands but are most common in rainy, cloudy forests. They often grow in rich organic soil or basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
ic medium, but are absent from deep soil and open plains.