Endiandra sankeyana, commonly known as Sankey's walnut, is a plant in the laurel family Lauraceae that was first described in the late 19th century. It is endemic to the northeastern coastal rainforests of Queensland, Australia.
Description Sankey's walnut is an evergreen canopy tree growing up to high, and it may be buttressed. The leaf bearing twigs are angular or fluted and are finely hairy. The leaves are dark green above and somewhat glaucous (chalky blue-green) below, with a petiole up to long. They are lanceolate to elliptic to more or less obovate, and measure up to .
The much branched inflorescences are produced in the and carry dozens of very small, fragrant, golden-yellow flowers about wide. The fruit is a globose or ellipsoid blue drupe, measuring up to and containing a single seed.
Taxonomy This species was first described in 1893 by the Australian botanist Frederick Manson Bailey, and published in Botany Bulletin, a journal published by the then Queensland Department of Agriculture. Bailey's description was based on material collected by E. Cowley in "scrubs of the Barron River".
Etymology The genus name Endiandra is formed from "endo" meaning inner or inside, and "andro" meaning male, which is a reference to the inner series of anthers being fertile. The species epithet sankeyana was chosen to honour J. R. Sankey.
Distribution and habitat Endiandra sankeyana is found from the Cooktown region in the north to the area near Mission Beach in the south, with a single occurrence recorded another further south near Ingham. It grows in mature rainforest on a variety of soils, at altitudes from sea level to around .
Ecology Fruits of this species are eaten by musky rat-kangaroos and cassowaries, both of which are recognised as important seed distributors for numerous species of plants. They are also eaten by native rodents.
Conservation This species has been assessed by the Queensland Government's Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, and by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as having a conservation status of least concern.
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References
External links
View a map of recorded observations of this species at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium View observations of this species on iNaturalist View images of this species on Flickriver.com