Bosistoa floydii
Encyclopedia
Bosistoa floydii, known as the Five-leaf Bosistoa or Five-leaf Bonewood is a rainforest
tree found in north eastern New South Wales
, Australia
. A member of the citrus family
, it is rare plant, with a ROTAP
rating of 2RCi
The tree was first described in 1977 by Thomas Gordon Hartley
. The generic name Bosistoa honours the name of Joseph Bosisto, a manufacturer of essential oils. The specific epithet floydii honours the eminent Australian rainforest botanist Alexander Floyd
.
Bosistoa floydii grows as a small tree with a spreading crown which may reach 15-20 m (50-70 ft) in height. The trunk is buttressed and can reach a diameter of 75 cm (30 in). The bark is grey. The leaves are arranged oppositely on the thick green or fawn branches and are pinnate - made up of five (rarely seven) roughly spear shaped glossy leaflets, which measure 1.5–3.5 cm (0.6-1.4 in) wide and 6.5–16 cm (2.6-6.4 in) long with a pointed apex. The leaves have prominent oil glands. Appearing in October and November, the tiny white flowers are arranged in creamy white panicles which are terminal or near terminal and reach 20 cm (8 in) in length, The flowers themselves have five sepals measuring 1 mm long, and five petals ovals 3 to 5 mm long. Flowering is followed by one or rarely two small warty woody yellow-brown fruit which ripen in February.
It is a rare species, restricted to two river valleys in Northern New South Wales, the Orara and Richmond River valleys. It grows in subtropical rainforest on basalt or rich alluvial soils.
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
tree found in north eastern 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...
, 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...
. A member of the citrus family
Rutaceae
Rutaceae, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, is a family of flowering plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents...
, it is rare plant, with a ROTAP
ROTAP
Rare or Threatened Australian Plants, usually abbreviated to ROTAP, is a list of rare or threatened Australian plant taxa. Developed and maintained by the CSIRO, the most recent edition lists 5031 taxa. The list uses a binary coding system based on the IUCN Red List categories for "Presumed...
rating of 2RCi
The tree was first described in 1977 by Thomas Gordon Hartley
Thomas Gordon Hartley
Thomas Gordon Hartley is an American botanist.-Biography:In 1955 Hartley graduated in botany with the academic degree Bachelor of Science at the Wisconsin State Universities. In 1957 he received his Master of Science and in 1962 his Ph.D...
. The generic name Bosistoa honours the name of Joseph Bosisto, a manufacturer of essential oils. The specific epithet floydii honours the eminent Australian rainforest botanist Alexander Floyd
Alexander Floyd
Alexander Geoffrey Floyd is an Australian botanist with an expert knowledge of rainforest plants, particularly the rainforest trees of New South Wales. He worked with the New South Wales Forestry Commission, the Department of Forestry in Papua-New Guinea and the National Parks and Wildlife Service...
.
Bosistoa floydii grows as a small tree with a spreading crown which may reach 15-20 m (50-70 ft) in height. The trunk is buttressed and can reach a diameter of 75 cm (30 in). The bark is grey. The leaves are arranged oppositely on the thick green or fawn branches and are pinnate - made up of five (rarely seven) roughly spear shaped glossy leaflets, which measure 1.5–3.5 cm (0.6-1.4 in) wide and 6.5–16 cm (2.6-6.4 in) long with a pointed apex. The leaves have prominent oil glands. Appearing in October and November, the tiny white flowers are arranged in creamy white panicles which are terminal or near terminal and reach 20 cm (8 in) in length, The flowers themselves have five sepals measuring 1 mm long, and five petals ovals 3 to 5 mm long. Flowering is followed by one or rarely two small warty woody yellow-brown fruit which ripen in February.
It is a rare species, restricted to two river valleys in Northern New South Wales, the Orara and Richmond River valleys. It grows in subtropical rainforest on basalt or rich alluvial soils.