Rutaceae

Flindersia xanthoxyla

LONG JACK, YELLOWWOOD

Large tree to 45 m high, trunk straight; bark greyish brown, scaly, shedding in oblong strips. Buds and young stems densely brownish hairy with with simple, clustered and star hairs, stems usually becoming hairless; stipules absent.

Leaves pinnately compound with a terminal leaflet, juvenile leaves sometimes ± bipinnate, opposite or sub-opposite or rarely alternate, 18–25 cm long; petiole 2–5 cm long, sometimes winged in juvenile leaves. Leaflets 3–11; laminas narrow-elliptic to ± lanceolate or rarely elliptic, 5–10 cm long, 0.5–3 cm wide, apex tapered to a blunt point, base cuneate to obtuse and asymmetric, margins entire, soft, rather thin, upper surface bright green and hairless, lower surface paler and sparsely hairy with simple clustered and star hairs; pinnately veined with 13–20 pairs of lateral veins, distinct on upper surface, raised and more prominent on lower surface; oil dots usually distinct in young leaves, obscure in older leaves, rather sparse; leaves aromatic when crushed; lateral petiolules 2–6 mm long, terminal petiolule 15–30 mm long.

Inflorescences terminal, panicles, spreading, to 25 cm long. Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic, 5-merous, sepals 5, ± free, 1–2.5 mm long, hairless; petals 4–4.5 mm long, yellow to greenish; stamens 5, alternating with 5 staminodes; ovary superior, of 5 fused carpels, 5-locular.

Fruit dry, a capsule, 6.5–11 cm long, woody, ellipsoid, ± lobed, separating into 5 boat-shaped valves; seeds 2–6 per loculus, 3.3–5 cm long, winged at both ends.

Illustration of leaves & fruit

Habitat and Distribution:

In STRf, DRf and VTs; north from Eltham (near Lismore), N.S.W., to Mt Bauple (S of Maryborough), Qld, and west to the Cadarga district (SW of Mundubbera), Qld.

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