Species profile—Actephila championiae
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Phyllanthaceae → Actephila championiae
Sighting data
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Phyllanthaceae
- Scientific name
- Actephila championiae P.I.Forst.
- WildNet taxon ID
- 30644
- Alternate name(s)
- Koumala Range actephila
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Vulnerable
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- No
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Short Notes
- Plus spirit
- Description
- Actephila championiae is a shrub or small tree to 8 m high. It has an indumentum of simple, uncoloured trichomes. The plant is mainly glabrous. The stipules are triangular, 1.2 to 2 mm long by 0.8 to 1.3 mm wide. The leaves are alternate, or rarely subverticillate, the petioles are 10 to 44 mm long. The lamina is elliptic, obovate, oblanceolate or oblong, 65 to 220 mm long by 12 to 110 mm wide, length/width ratio 1.8 to 2.8. The base is acute to rounded, rarely retuse, midrib more or less flat above. Below it is prominently raised at the lamina base, then decreasing towards the apex. There are 10 to 12 lateral veins per side of the midrib; the upper surface is dark green and glossy, the lower surface pale green-yellow and matt. The margin is entire, revolute, pale yellow. The inflorescence is axillary, either single sex or with both male and female flowers. Male flowers have a filiform pedicel that is 10 to 15 mm long by 0.8 to 1.3 mm diameter; sepals 5, oblong to obovate, fused for 2 to 2.5 mm at the base. The petals are absent or one or two present, oblanceolate, oblong or spathulate, 3.2 to 4 mm long by 0.8 to 1.8 mm wide; disc conspicuous, fleshy, 1.5 to 2 mm high, 8 to 9 mm diameter, strongly 5 (6) angled; stamens 5, filaments 2.5 to 4 mm long and about 0.2 mm diameter, anthers 0.4 to 0.5 mm long and 0.6 to 0.8 mm wide. The female flowers are on a stout pedicel 10 to 18 mm long by 0.8 to 2 mm diameter; sepals 5, obovate, fused at the base for 1 to 1.5 mm, free lobes 2.8 to 3 mm long, 1.7 to 2 mm wide, ciliate in patches at the apices. The petals are absent or one or two present, oblanceolate, oblong or spathulate, 3 to 3.2 mm long by 1 to 2 mm wide; disk conspicuous, fleshy and about 1.5 mm high by 6 to 7 mm diameter, strongly 5-angled; styles 3, simple. The fruit is a depressed globose to subglobose capsule on a pedicel 12 to 25 mm long by 1 to 1.5 mm diameter. The fruit is 14 to 17mm long by 14 to 20mm diameter and is weakly bullate, green in colour. <>Actephila championiae differs from A. latifolia by having: cream branchlets (versus dark brown); leaf lamina with bases obtuse to rounded, rarely weakly cordate (versus attenuate to cuneate); a leaf margin that is revolute (versus flat); abaxial leaf surfaces with only 1 to 2 degrees of vein orders distinct (versus 1 to 3 degrees); and the female flowers have petals that are oblanceolate, oblong or spathulate (versus obovate) and are also larger (3 to 3.2 by 1 to 2 mm versus 1 to 2 by 0.5 to 1 mm) and the flowers also have a larger disc (6 to 7 mm diameter versus 3 to 4 mm) (Forster, 2005).
- Map
- View Map
- Distribution
- Actephila championiae is endemic in central Queensland where it is restricted to the Black Mountain Range, Kelvin SF near Koumala. (Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Distributional limits
- -21.5861111, 149.1836111
-21.6064139, 149.19 - Range derivation
- Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records
- Habitat
- Actephila championiae grows in the understorey of dry rainforest (semi-deciduous, complex notophyll vineforest) on substrates derived from acid volcanic rocks at altitudes between 160 and 200 m (Forster, 2005).
- Reproduction
- Actephila championiae has been collected in flower from September to December (Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Threatening processes
- No substantiated threatening processes recorded in the literature.
- Status notes
- Actephila championiae is listed as Vulnerable under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act, 1992.
Actephila championiae is not present in any conservation reserves. - References
- Forster, P.I. (2005). A taxonomic revision of Actephila Blume (Euphorbiaceae/Phyllanthaceae) in Australia. Austrobaileya 7 (1): 66-68, .
Queensland Herbarium (2012). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 19/01/2012. - Profile author
- Ronald Booth (22/06/2012)
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=30644.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
