Species profile—Phyllanthus brassii
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Phyllanthaceae → Phyllanthus brassii
Sighting data
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Phyllanthaceae
- Scientific name
- Phyllanthus brassii C.T.White
- WildNet taxon ID
- 11271
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Vulnerable
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- No
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Short Notes
- BRI 011192
- Description
- Phyllanthus brassii is a hairless shrub or small tree growing to about 3 to 4 m tall. The branchlets are thick and marked with long narrow ridges or depressions. The leaves are leathery, lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate in shape and measure 4 to 6.5 cm long by 1.5 to 2.5 cm wide. Both leaf surfaces are shiny and strongly netted, the margins are slightly thickened and curled and the leaf stalks are 2 to 3mm long. The unisexual flowers are borne in axillary clusters, each on a thin stalk 2 to 3 mm long. The male flowers have two stamens and four sepals, the sepals are oblong-ovate and are 2 mm long by 1.25 mm wide. The female flowers have three styles. The seed capsule is undescribed (White, 1936).
Several specimens that were identified as P. brassii from SF 391 in Port Curtis District have been renamed Phyllanthus sp. (Bulburin P.I. Forster + PIF 16034) (Wang, 1998). Phyllanthus brassii is not closely related to any other Australian species (White 1936). - Map
- View Map
- Distribution
- Restricted to north east Queensland where it is confined to Thornton Peak and Whyanbeel north of Mossman. Recorded in Daintree National Park. Is suspected to occur in TR 165 (Wang, 1989; Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Distributional limits
- -16.16246, 145.2877777
-16.3897223, 145.3806 - Range derivation
- Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records
- Habitat
- Phyllanthus brassii occurs at altitudes of 1200 to 1260 m. It grows in montane rainforest and montane heath on granite, usually along streams (Wang, 1989).
- Reproduction
- Flowering has been recorded in June and November, but the fruiting period is unknown (Wang, 1989).
- Threatening processes
- Although locally common at Thornton Peak, Phyllanthus brassii has a very restricted distribution, with all known populations located in Daintree National Park. Therefore, its habitat is protected and it is not seriously threatened. Several specimens that were identified as P. brassii from SF 391 in Port Curtis District 3.5 were renamed Phyllanthus sp. (Bulburin P.I. Forster + PIF 16034) (Wang, 1998).
- Status notes
- Phyllanthus brassii is listed as Vulnerable under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.
- Notes
- Occurs in the following Queensland pastoral districts: Cook.
- References
- Queensland Herbarium (2011). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 21/07/2011.
Wang, J. (1998). Phyllanthus brassii Species Management Profile. Department of Natural Resources, Brisbane.
White, C.T. (1936). Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 47: 81. - Profile author
- Ronald Booth (25/05/2012)
Other resources
Data source
This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=11271.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
