Gillbeea whypallana, commonly known as pink alder, is a species of plant in the family Cunoniaceae. It is a rainforest tree native to a small part of the Wet Tropics bioregion of Queensland, Australia, first described in 2000. It has a conservation status of least concern.
Description Gillbeea whypallana is a tree growing to about in height and up to diameter. It has a straight trunk and nondescript bark. Stipules are quite large, about wide and long, with toothed margins. The leaves are compound with up to seven leaflets, including a terminal leaflet. Most parts of the plant are densely hairy.
The inflorescences are panicles appearing at the ends of the branches, and may be long. Flowers have four or five petals and sepals and are about diameter. They have ten stamens in two whorls, the outer ones about long, inner whorl about long. The ovary usually has three , sometimes four, and the is orange. The fruit is a three- or four-winged samara.
Distribution and habitat It occurs in rainforest areas of northeast Queensland, from Mount Lewis National Park north to the area around Rossville, at altitudes from sea level up to about . It grows in soils of various types, but favours wetter areas such as gullies and beside watercourses.
Conservation , this species has been assessed to be of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and by the Queensland Government under its Nature Conservation Act. The IUCN supports its assessment citing a large population and the lack of any identified current or future threats. The Queensland Government does not publish any justification for its conservation assessments.
Ecology The fruits of this plant are eaten by Australian king parrots and crimson rosellas.
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References
External links
Map of herbarium collections of this species at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium Observations of this species on iNaturalist Images of this species on Flickriver.com