Lasjia whelanii
| Lasjia whelanii | |
|---|---|
| |
| Foliage and flowers | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Lasjia |
| Species: | L. whelanii
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| Binomial name | |
| Lasjia whelanii | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Lasjia whelanii, also known as Whelan's silky oak, Whelan's nut oak or Whelan's macadamia, is a species of large forest tree in the protea family that is endemic to north-eastern Queensland, Australia.
History
[edit]The tree was first described in 1889 by Queensland's colonial botanist Frederick Manson Bailey as a species of Helicia, which in 1901 he moved to Macadamia, but was transferred in 2008, in a paper in the American Journal of Botany by Peter Weston and Austin Mast, to the new genus Lasjia.
Description
[edit]The dark green leaves grow up to 21 cm (8.3 in) long by 6 cm (2.4 in) wide, with four or five leaves in each whorl. The white flowers grow as inflorescences. The globular fruits are about 5 cm (2.0 in) in diameter, with the seeds strongly cyanogenetic (cyanide producing) and poisonous to humans. It produces a useful timber, suitable for construction work.[2]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]The species occurs in the Wet Tropics of Queensland, in well-developed lowland tropical rainforest, from near sea level to an altitude of 650 m (2,130 ft).[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "Species profile—Lasjia whelanii". Queensland Department of Environment and Science. Queensland Government. 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ a b F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Lasjia whelanii". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
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