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.
Description Plants in this genus are shrubs or trees that grow to heights between . Juvenile leaves can vary somewhat from the mature stages in both size and shape. The inflorescence is a much-branched corymb; the flowers are bisexual (i.e. they have both male and female organs) and protandrous, meaning that each flower is functionally male first and then becomes functionally female. The fruit is an orange/red capsule containing a number of black seeds.
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.
Species Auranticarpa edentata L.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford – Queensland Auranticarpa ilicifolia L.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford – Queensland Auranticarpa melanosperma (F.Muell.) L.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford – Northern Territory, Queensland Auranticarpa papyracea L.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford – Queensland Auranticarpa resinosa (Domin) L.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford – Western Australia Auranticarpa rhombifolia (A.Cunn. ex Hook.) L.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford – New South Wales, Queensland
Etymology The name Auranticarpa comes from aurantius, 'red' or 'orange', and kărpós, 'fruit'. It is a reference to the colour of the fruit.
References