Floydia

Floydia is a monotypic genus of plants in the macadamia family Proteaceae which is endemic to Australia. The sole described species is Floydia praealta, commonly known as the ball nut. It is a somewhat rare tree found only growing in the rainforests of southeastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales. The tree has a superficial resemblance to the closely related Macadamia and could be confused with them. The fruit of F. praealta is poisonous.

Floydia
Flower & leaves
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Subfamily: Grevilleoideae
Tribe: Roupaleae
Subtribe: Floydiinae
Genus: Floydia
L.A.S.Johnson & B.G.Briggs[3]
Species:
F. praealta
Binomial name
Floydia praealta

Description

Floydia praealta is a tree growing to 30 m (98 ft) tall with a trunk up to 60 cm (24 in) diameter. The leaves are mid-green, shiny, glabrous and stiff.[1][2] They measure up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long by 3 cm (1.2 in) wide and are held on a petiole up to 1.2 cm (0.47 in) long.[1][2] There are between 10 and 28 pairs of secondary veins and a densely reticulate tertiary venation which are all obvious on both surfaces.[1][2]

The inflorescence is a raceme up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long carrying numerous cream flowers in pairs. The flowers have 4 hairy tepals and are up to 1.7 cm (0.67 in) long.[2][5] The fruit is a globular, woody follicle around 3 or 4 cm (1.2 or 1.6 in) diameter.[1][2][5]

Taxonomy

The species was formally described in 1862 by Victorian Government Botanist Ferdinand von Mueller based on plant material collected near the Clarence River in northern New South Wales and the Brisbane River in Queensland. In his publication Fragmenta phytographiæ Australiæ Mueller named the plant Helicia praealta. The species was transferred to the genus Macadamia in 1901 by Queensland Colonial Botanist Frederick Manson Bailey and then to Floydia in 1975 by Lawrie Johnson and Barbara Briggs.[1][4]

  • Foliage
    Foliage
  • Trunk
    Trunk
  • Foliage
    Foliage

References
  1. "PlantNET - FloraOnline". PlantNET (The NSW Plant Information Network System). Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  2. "Species profile—Floydia praealta". Queensland Department of Environment and Science. Queensland Government. 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  3. Johnson, L.A.S.; Briggs, Barbara G. (1975). "On the Proteaceae—the evolution and classification of a southern family". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 70 (2): 83–182. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1975.tb01644.x.
  4. "Floydia". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  5. Harden, Gwen; Williams, John; McDonald, Bill; et al. (2014). Rainforest Plants of Australia: Rockhampton to Victoria. (Digital identification key, published as USB and mobile app). Nambucca Heads, NSW: Gwen Harden Publishing.
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