Ryparosa kurrangii

Ryparosa kurrangii is a small evergreen tree which commonly grows to be 15–20 m (49–66 ft) tall – larger specimens often develop fluted trunks and buttress roots.[4][5] The trunk has large irregularly shaped outgrowths (or tubercles) from which flowers and fruit are produced.[4][5] The elliptic leaves are glossy above and sparsely hairy below, and usually measure from 24 to 28 cm (9.4 to 11.0 in) long and from 6 to 7.5 cm (2.4 to 3.0 in) wide.[4][5] They have a well defined acuminate tip (commonly called a "drip tip"), and the base is attenuate (tapering).[4][5] There are 7 or 8 (occasionally 9) secondary veins either side of the midrib. The long petiole (leaf stem) measures between 4 and 5 cm (1.6 and 2.0 in).[4][5]

The inflorescence is a fascicle, the staminate (functionally male) ones measuring up to 40 cm (16 in) long and the pistillate (functionally female) ones up to 35 cm (14 in) long. This species is monoecious, meaning that male and female flowers are borne on the same plant.[4][5] The inflorescences are produced from the turbercles on the lower trunk, or very rarely from branches. The flowers are quite small, with 4 or 5 petals measuring up to 5 mm (0.20 in) long by 2.5 mm (0.098 in) wide, and have a sickly sweet fragrance.[4][5]

The fruit are indehiscent, globose drupes, and vary in shape depending on the number of seeds contained within. They have a dense covering of dark hairs and are dark green when immature, becoming yellow/orange when ripe.[4][5]

This species was first discovered in the Daintree area the 1960s. At the time, it was considered to be an outlier population of Ryparosa javanica, which at the time had become a complex of poorly known species ranging from the Andaman Islands through the whole of Malesia to Queensland.[4] In 2006 the Australian botanist Bruce L. Webber published a paper in which he reviewed the R. javanica complex, and R. kurrangii is one of several new species that he created.[4]

Ryparosa kurrangii grows as an understory tree in well developed rainforest.[5][8] It is endemic to Queensland, Australia, and restricted to an extremely small area, i.e. the coastal strip between the Daintree River in the south and Cape Tribulation in the north, and bounded by the Coral Sea to the east and the Great Dividing Range in the west.[9] The total area of occupancy of this species is just 64 km² (25 sq mi).[10]

The fruit of this species is eaten by cassowaries (Casuarius casuarius) and the seeds are later deposited in the bird's droppings. It has been shown that, after passing through the bird's gut, the germination rate of the seeds increases remarkably from 4% to 92%.[11]

This species is listed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science as near threatened.[1] As of 16 October 2023, it has not been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

• 
  Foliage
• 
  Leaf underside
• 
  Flower budding
• 
  Flowers
• 
  Female inflorescence

• Data related to Ryparosa kurrangii at Wikispecies
• Media related to Ryparosa kurrangii at Wikimedia Commons
• View a map of historical sightings of this species at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium
• View observations of this species on iNaturalist
• View images of this species on Flickriver