Trochocarpa montana

Trochocarpa montana, the mountain tree heath, is an Australian shrub or small tree. It occurs at high altitude from the Barrington Tops to the Dorrigo region of northern New South Wales.[1][2][3]

Trochocarpa montana
Mountain tree heath at altitude 1280 metres above sea level, Barrington Tops, Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Trochocarpa
Species:
T. montana
Binomial name
Trochocarpa montana
J.B.Williams & J.T.Hunter[1]
Synonyms
  • Trochocarpa sp. A sensu Barbara Wiecek
  • Trochocarpa mcraeana Blakey & McKie

The habitat is above 1000 metres above sea level in cool temperate rainforest, usually dominated by Antarctic Beech or Sassafras.[1][2][3] The Latin specific epithet montana refers to mountains or coming from mountains.[4]

Description

A small tree or shrub. The crooked trunk can be up to 30 cm in diameter, slightly flanged at the base. Often seen a few metres tall, but it can grow to ten metres. The bark is thin, mottled brown, pinkish or fawn in colour. Bark is in scaly patterns. The underbark is much darker in colour.[1]

Leaves alternate, not particularly grouped at the ends of the branchlets as seen in Trochocarpa laurina. Leaves not toothed, elliptic, 1.5 to 7 cm long, 0.4 to 2.5 cm wide, pointed at the tip. Glossy green both sides, paler beneath. Five parallel veins on the leaf, venation more evident under the leaf. New leaves red. Leaf stalks 2 to 3 mm long, hairy.[1]

Small creamy brown flowers appear on spikes from March to July. The fruit is a small flattened drupe; blue to purplish black in colour, maturing from November to February. Within the aril of the drupe is a ten ribbed bony endocarp, each of the ten cells within contains a seed.[1]

Mountain Tree Heath at altitude 1350 metres above sea level, Tia River, Mount Grundy, Australia

References
  1. Williams, John B.; Hunter, John T. (2007). "Trochocarpa montana (Ericaceae), an endemic new species from the Northern Tablelands area of north-eastern New South Wales" (PDF). Telopea. 11 (4): 413–417. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  2. Floyd, Alex G. (1989). Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia (1st ed.). Inkata Press. p. 123. ISBN 0-909605-57-2.
  3. "Trochocarpa montana – New South Wales Flora Online". PlantNET – The Plant Information Network System. 2.0. Sydney, Australia: The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust. February 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  4. Archibald William Smith A Gardener's Handbook of Plant Names: Their Meanings and Origins, p. 239, at Google Books
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