Auranticarpa

Auranticarpa
Auranticarpa rhombifolia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Pittosporaceae
Genus: Auranticarpa
L.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford
Type species
Pittosporum rhombifolium
A.Cunn. ex Hook.
Species

See text

Auranticarpa is a genus of plants in the family Pittosporaceae, first described in 2000. It comprises six species from northern and eastern Australia. Three of the species were previously placed in the genus Pittosporum.: 903 

Description

Plants in this genus are shrubs or trees that grow to heights between 5 and 30 m (16 and 98 ft). Juvenile leaves can vary somewhat from the mature stages in both size and shape. The inflorescences are much-branched corymbs; the flowers are bisexual (i.e. they have both male and female organs) and protandrous, meaning that each flower is functionally male when it initially opens, and later becomes functionally female. The fruits are orange/red capsules containing a number of black seeds.: 904 

Distribution

The genus is endemic to Australia. One species occurs in Western Australia, another in the Northern Territory, and four species occur in Queensland, one of which extends into northern New South Wales.

Taxonomy

The genus was erected in a paper published in 2000, following a revision of the Pittosporaceae family in Australia which identified two clades within the genus Pittosporum. The smaller clade included three described and three undescribed species, all of which were subsequently placed in the new genus Auranticarpa.

Auranticarpa differs from Pittosporum mainly in having bisexual flowers versus having male and female flowers on separate plants (see dioecy), and the seeds that are not coated in a sticky red resin. Additional more minute differences were described in the author's paper.

Species

Etymology

The name Auranticarpa comes from aurantius, 'red' or 'orange', and kărpós, 'fruit'. It is a reference to the colour of the fruit.

References

  1. ↑ "Auranticarpa L.W.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 4 October 2026.
  2. ↑ "Auranticarpa L.W.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2026. Retrieved 4 October 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Cayzer, Lindy W.; Crisp, Michael D.; Telford, Ian R. H. (2000). "Auranticarpa , a new genus of Pittosporaceae from northern Australia". Australian Systematic Botany. 13 (6): 903–917. doi:10.1071/SB99022.
  4. 1 2 Cooper, Wendy; Cooper, William T. (June 2004). Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia: Nokomis Editions. p. 399–400. ISBN 978-0-9581742-1-3.
  5. 1 2 Cayzer, Lindy W. (2022). Kodela, P.G. (ed.). "Auranticarpa L.W.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 5 October 2026.