Phyllanthus brassii

Phyllanthus
Flowering at Cairns Botanic Gardens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Phyllanthaceae
Genus: Phyllanthus
Species:
P. brassii
Binomial name
Phyllanthus brassii
Synonyms[3]
  • Dendrophyllanthus brassii (C.T.White) R.W.Bouman nom. inval.

Phyllanthus brassii, commonly known as phyllanthus, is a species of plant in the family Phyllanthaceae native to Queensland, Australia. It is a rainforest shrub, first described in 1935, which occurs in two widely separated populations. It has a conservation status of vulnerable.

Description

Phyllanthus brassii is a shrub up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) high with simple, alternately arranged leaves held on very short petioles (leaf stalks) up to 6 mm (0.24 in) long. The leaves are elliptic to lanceolate and measure up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long and 4.5 cm (1.8 in) wide. The secondary veins form distinct loops inside the leaf margin and the tertiary venation is reticulate. The leaves are glossy green, hairless and fleshy, the petioles are thickened and dark.[4][5]

Flowers grow in fascicles, or clusters, from the leaf axils on very long, slender pedicels (flower stalks) about 25 mm (1 in) long. They are very small - the four sepals are only about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and just over 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. The fruit is a green or brown capsule about 5 mm (0.20 in) diameter, with three segments. Each segment contains a seed about 2 mm (0.08 in) long.[4][5][6]

This species is dioecious, meaning that pistillate (functionally female) and staminate (functionally male) flowers are borne on separate plants.[6]

Taxonomy

It was first described in 1935 by Australian botanist Cyril Tenison White, based on material collected near the summit of Thornton Peak by plant collector Leonard John Brass (who White acknowledged in the specific epithet). White published the name in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland.[5][6]

In 2022, Roderick Bouman et al. published a paper in the journal Phytotaxa, transferring this species to the genus Dendrophyllanthus.[7] Their new name is not accepted by the Australian National Herbarium, nor by Plants of the World Online,[2][3] and is considered to be invalidly published.[8]

Distribution and habitat

This plant occurs only in Queensland, Australia, in two small and widely separated populations. The northern population is in upland areas and peaks within the Daintree National Park, while the southern population is more than 1,100 km (680 mi) to the southeast in Bulburin National Park. It grows in rainforest, particularly along watercourses. The altitudinal range in the northern population is 300–1,300 m (980–4,270 ft).[9][4]

The area of occupancy[a] of P. brassii is estimated to be about 68 km2 (26 sq mi)[10]

Conservation

This species is listed as vulnerable under the Queensland Government's Nature Conservation Act.[1] As of 10 August 2025, it has not been assessed under the Australian Goverment's EPBC Act nor by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

  • Flowers
    Flowers
  • Xray of leaf showing fine venation
    Xray of leaf showing fine venation
  • Seedling
    Seedling
  • Foliage and flowers
    Foliage and flowers

References

  1. ^ a b "Phyllanthus brassii". Wildnet. Queensland Government. 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Phyllanthus brassii". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Phyllanthus brassii C.T.White". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b c F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Phyllanthus brassii". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b c White, C.T. (1935). "Contributions to the Queensland Flora, No. 5". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland (in Latin and English). 47: 81. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Cooper, Wendy; Cooper, William T. (June 2004). Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia: Nokomis Editions. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-9581742-1-3.
  7. ^ Bouman, Roderick W.; Kebler, Paul J.A.; Telford, IAN R.H.; Bruhl, Jeremy J.; Strijk, Joeri S.; Saunders, Richard M.K.; Esser, Hans-Joachim; Falcón-Hidalgo, Banessa; Van Welzen, Peter C. (2022). "A revised phylogenetic classification of tribe Phyllantheae (Phyllanthaceae)". Phytotaxa. 540 (1): 1–100. Bibcode:2022Phytx.540....1B. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.540.1.1.
  8. ^ "Dendrophyllanthus brassii (C.T.White) R.W.Bouman, Phytotaxa 540(1): 56 (2022), nom. inval". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  9. ^ "Search: species: Phyllanthus brassii | Occurrence records". Australasian Virtual Herbarium. Australian Government. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Spatial Portal - Phyllanthus brassii". Atlas of Living Australia. CSIRO. Retrieved 11 August 2025.

Notes

  1. ^ For a definition of Area of Occupancy see this page at the Atlas of Living Australia
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