Species profile—Hernandia bivalvis (cudgerie)
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Hernandiaceae → Hernandia bivalvis (cudgerie)
Sighting data
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Hernandiaceae
- Scientific name
- Hernandia bivalvis Benth.
- Common name
- cudgerie
- WildNet taxon ID
- 13625
- Alternate name(s)
- grease nut
hernandia - Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Near threatened
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- No
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Description
- Hernandia bivalvis is a tree growing up to 20 m tall. The trunk is about 25 cm in diameter and the bark is grey. The leaves are ovate or ovate lanceolate and measure 3.5 to 11 cm long by 1.5 to 6 cm wide. The leaf tip is pointed and the leaf base is rounded or truncate. The leaf stalk is 1.5 to 4 cm long. The upper leaf surface is shining green and the lower leaf surface is paler and duller. The flowers are grouped in clusters comprising of one stalkless female and two short, stalked male flowers. Each flower cluster has four or five bracts and a stalk 1.5 to 9 cm long. The female flowers have ten perianth segments, the male flowers eight. The black, ovoid fruit is about 2 cm in diameter and has 10 ribs. The fruit is surrounded by two to three large, red fleshy bracts up to 7 cm long. The seed is very hard (Wang 1996).
- Distribution
- Hernandia bivalvis is restricted to the central coastal and south east Queensland. It is known from Dryander Creek (near Proserpine) south to Mt Tamborine (north east of Beaudesert). The species is recorded from SF 67, SF 301, SF432, SF 471, SF 637, SF 648 and TR 580. It is also recorded from Mt Colosseum National Park. (Wang, 1996; Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Distributional limits
- -20.2734396, 148.5916666
-27.915068, 153.2510654 - Range derivation
- Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records
- Habitat
- Hernandia bivalvis mainly grows in rainforest on rock pavements and outcrops with shallow soils. Most Queensland Herbarium records
are from either vine thicket or microphyll vine forest. It occurs up to 620 m altitude (Queensland Herbarium). - Reproduction
- Hernandia bivalvis flowers from October to December and fruits from January to April (Wang 1996)
- Threatening processes
Possible threats to Hernandia bivalvis include: habitat fragmentation; inappropriate fire regimes; degradation of habitat by weeds (Wang 1996).- Status notes
- Hernandia bivalvis is listed as Near Threatened under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992
- Notes
- Occurs in the following Queensland pastoral districts: Burnett, Moreton, North Kennedy, Port Curtis, Wide Bay.
- References
- Bentham, G. (1870). Flora Australiensis 5: 314.
Queensland Herbarium (2011). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 21/07/2011.
Ross, E.M. in Stanley, T.D. and Ross, E.M. (1984). Flora of South-eastern Queensland 1: 168.
Telford, I.R.H. (2007). Hernandiaceae. Flora of Australia 2: 226, 228, Fig. 44D-F, Map 261.
Wang, J. (1996). Hernandia bivalvis Species Management Profile. Department of Natural Resources, Brisbane. - Profile author
- Ronald Booth (08/03/2012)
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=13625.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
