Species profile—Actephila bella
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Phyllanthaceae → Actephila bella
Sighting data
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Phyllanthaceae
- Scientific name
- Actephila bella P.I.Forst.
- WildNet taxon ID
- 30539
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Endangered
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- No
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Short Notes
- BRI 256789, 256790
- Description
- Actephila bella is a subshrub or shrub to 3 m high with an indumentum of simple trichomes. The plant is mainly glabrous, though the branchlets can have a scattered to sparse indumentum when young. The stipules are ovate-triangular, 0.8 to 1.2 mm long by 0.7 to 1.2 mm wide, with scattered cilia. The leaves are alternate and coriaceous. The petioles are 3 to 47 mm long by 0.8 to 1 mm wide, cream, lenticellate, glabrous or with a sparse indumentum. The lamina is elliptic-ovate, rarely obovate, 56 to 145 mm long by 23 to 61 mm wide, length/width ratio 1.9 to 3.1; base obtuse to rounded, rarely subcordate and unequal; the tip is acute to acuminate, rarely rounded; the midrib above is slightly raised, pale green, below, it is strongly raised at the lamina base, then decreasing towards the apex, pale olive-green and matt; the lateral and intercostal venation is prominent and slightly raised. The lamina margins are entire. The inflorescence is axillary and is either single sex or with both male and female flowers. The male flowers are on pedicels 13 to 15 mm long by about 0.8 mm diameter with 5 sepals that are fused for 2.5 to 3 mm, the lobes are oblong-ovate, 2.5 to 3.5 mm long by 3.5 to 5 mm wide, glabrous or sparsely ciliate in patches towards the apices. The petals are absent or present as one or two, oblong, 2.5 to 3 mm long by 0.4 to 0.7 mm wide, the disc is conspicuous, fleshy, 1.5 to 2 mm high by 6 to 7.5 mm diameter, 5 angled; stamens 3 to 5, filaments 2.5 to 3 mm long by 0.3 to 0.5 mm diameter, anthers 0.7 to 0.8 mm long by 1 to 1.2 mm wide. Female flowers have not been seen. The fruit is on a pedicel about 18 mm long by 0.5 mm diameter, capsules depressed-globose to subglobose, rounded, 9 to 10 mm long by 12 to 13 mm diameter, strongly bullate, green in colour. The seeds have not been seen.
- Map
- View Map
- Distribution
- Actephila bella is known from populations at Shoalwater Bay and Bulburin National Park (several localities) (Forster, 2005).
- Distributional limits
- -22.5592914, 150.3439531
-24.6277778, 151.5596739 - Range derivation
- Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records
- Habitat
- Actephila bella grows in the understorey of dry rainforest (araucarian notophyll vineforest) on alluvium and substrates derived from andesite at altitudes between 160 and 300 m (Forster, 2005).
- Reproduction
- Flowers of Actephila bella have been collected in January (Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Threatening processes
- Threatening process include: weed invasion of the habitat, particularly by Lantana camara; chance stochastic events (e.g. change in drainage on the site, drought, predation by wildlife) that may reduce the population size or eliminate it entirely (all populations); and genetic inbreeding depression due to the small population size (Forster, 2008)
- Status notes
- Actephila bella is listed as Vulnerable under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act, 1992.
- References
- Forster, P.I. (2005). A taxonomic revision of Actephila Blume (Euphorbiaceae/Phyllanthaceae) in Australia. Austrobaileya 7 (1): 65-66.
Forster, P.I. (2008). Nomination form and guidelines for listing protected wildlife under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. Species Technical Committee February 2008.
Queensland Herbarium (2012). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 19/01/2012. - Profile author
- Ronald Booth (05/06/2012)
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=30539.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
