Polyosma hirsuta, commonly known as hairy polyosma, is a plant in the family Escalloniaceae which is endemic to northeastern Queensland, Australia.
Description It is a small evergreen tree growing up to high. Most parts of the plant, including the twigs, leaves and fruit, are clothed in fine rusty brown hairs. The leaves are up to long and wide, and are ovate to lanceolate in shape. They usually have toothed margins with a short stiff spine at the apex of each tooth. The top surface of the leaves are glossy green, hairy when young but becoming smooth. The undersides have very pronounced veins which are densely covered in pale hairs.
The inflorescence is a raceme (an unbranched spike) produced in the leaf axils or at the ends of branches, and the central stem is covered in fine hairs. The cream-coloured flowers are tubular, about long by wide. They are attached to the inflorescence by a pedicel (flower stalk) about long. The fruit is a rounded or ovoid, dark purple or black berry containing a single seed. The fruit measures about and the seed about .
Taxonomy The hairy polyosma was first described in 1918 by the Australian botanist Cyril Tenison White, based on material collected by Norman Michael, an enthusiastic collector of botanic specimens in Queensland. Michael found the plant in the vicinity of the Johnstone River. White's description was published in Botany Bulletin, a publication of the then Queensland Department of Agriculture.
Etymology The genus name Polyosma is compounded from the Ancient Greek word poly meaning 'many', and the Latin word osma, meaning 'odour'. The species epithet hirsuta is from the Latin hirsutus meaning 'hairy'.
Distribution and habitat Polyosma hirsuta is restricted to a small part of northeastern Queensland, on the coast and adjacent highlands from near Cooktown in the north to about Tully in the south. It grows as an understory tree in rainforest on various soils, at altitudes from near sea level to around .
Conservation This species is listed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science as least concern. , it has not been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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References
External links
Biography of Norman Michael, collector of the first sepcimen Map of historical sightings of this species at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium Observations of this species on iNaturalist Images of this species on Flickriver.com