Randia moorei, commonly known as the spiny gardenia, is a rare Australian shrub growing in the far north eastern areas of the state of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and adjacent areas 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...

. The habitat is subtropical rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 north of Lismore

Lismore, New South Wales

Lismore is a subtropical town in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. Lismore is the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area. Lismore is a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State.-History:...

.

Randia moorei was described by George Bentham

George Bentham

George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...

 in his Flora Australiensis

Flora Australiensis

Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory, more commonly referred to as Flora Australiensis, and also known by its standard abbreviation Fl. Austral., is a seven-volume flora of Australia published between 1863 and 1878 by George Bentham, with the assistance of...

in 1867. It is one of many plants named in honour of Charles Moore

Charles Moore (botanist)

Charles Moore was an Australian botanist. He arrived in Sydney on 14 January 1848 and took up the position of Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, a position he held until 5 May 1896. In this time he undertook several trips in eastern New South Wales as a plant and seed collector.He...

. Unlike several other Australian species, it was not transferred to the genus Atractocarpus

Atractocarpus

Atractocarpus is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. Its members are commonly known as native gardenias in Australia. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek terms atractos "spindle", and karpos "fruit", from the spindle-shaped fruit of the type species.-Taxonomy:Defined...

, and remains in the genus Randia

Randia (plant)

Randia, commonly known as indigoberry, is a mostly neotropical genus of shrubs or small trees in the Rubiaceae. The International Plant Names Index lists a total of 738 names for the genus, synonyms included. Several Australian species have been reassigned to the genus Atractocarpus. These include...

, historically a wastebasket taxon for the time being. New South Wales botanist Gwen Harden classified it in the genus Xeromphis.

Growing as a shrub or small tree, Randia moorei reaches 8 m (25 ft) in height. Its roots can sucker if disturbed. There are often spines on the stems. Broadly oval, the leaves measure 2–6 cm (0.8-2.4 in) in length by 1–3 cm (0.4-1.4 in) wide, with a narrow tip.
present. The fragrant flowers occur in groups of three at the ends or on the side of branchlets, and are followed by a round golden berry, measuring 0.6–0.9 cm long.

Randia moorei is found on 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...

 soils from Lismore in northern New South Wales north into the Gold Coast Hinterland. It is found in subtropical dry rainforest as an understory plant under hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii

Araucaria cunninghamii

Araucaria cunninghamii is a species of Araucaria known as Moreton Bay Pine, or Hoop Pine. Other less commonly used names include Colonial Pine, Richmond River Pine, Queensland Pine, Alloa, Ningwik, or Pien, the wood is sometimes called Arakaria)...

) and brush box (Lophostemon confertus

Lophostemon confertus

The Brush Box, Lophostemon confertus, is a tree native to Australia, though it can be found in the United States and elsewhere. Quite frequently, it has been planted as a street tree, due to its hearty nature, its disease and pest resilience, high tolerance for smog, drought and poor drainage, as...

), often along watercourses. Much of its habitat has been cleared for urban and agricultural development, such as banana plantations, as well as clearing for upgrading of the Pacific Highway

Pacific Highway

Pacific Highway may refer to:*Pacific Highway - Queensland/New South Wales Border-Sydney*Pacific Motorway - Brisbane - Gold Coast *Pacific Highway , the name of several highways in the United States...

.

To complicate matters, the spiny gardenia resembles the Cockspur Vine (Maclura cochinchinensis

Maclura cochinchinensis

Maclura cochinchinensis is a species of plant in the Moraceae family. It is found in China, though southeast Asia and into Australia....

) and invasive small-leaved privet (Ligustrum sinense), so inadvertent removal is possible.