Harpullia pendula.
The Tulipwood tree is native to Queensland and other areas.
It is commonly seen as a street tree in Brisbane.
They are mostly seen up to 6 m tall but can grow to 24 m.
They have a straight, often fluted trunk with grey bark.
There is a large, rounded crown of dense foliage.
New growth may be tinted and finely hairy.
The alternate, pinnate leaves are up to 30 cm long with the petiole 2.5 cm.
They mostly have 3 to 8 (13) leaflets irregularly arranged along the midrib.
Leaflets are on petiolules 3 to 6 mm long.
Leaflets are up to around 12 cm long and 2 to 5 cm wide.
The blades are elliptic with a blunt or short pointed tip and a smooth edge.
The base may be unequal.
They are a glossy green above and paler underneath.
There are hairs on the petiole and petiolules and a few on the lower blade surface.
The upper surface has no hairs.
The pendulous axillary inflorescences are panicles up to 20 or 30 cm long.
There are fine hairs on the peduncle.
Individual flowers are on hairy pedicels up to 1 cm long.
The flowers are up to 5 mm long and 18 mm across.
There are 5 free, reddish round sepals 4 mm long with hairs on both surfaces.
The sepals do not persist on the fruit.
There are 5 oblong white to greenish-yellow petals 8 mm long.
They have flaps or auricles near the clawed base.
There are some hairs near the base on both surfaces.
There is a continuous smooth disc at the base of the stamens.
There is a short androgynophore.
Flowers are functionally male or female.
Male flowers have 8 (7) long fertile stamens that extend well past the corolla.
The anthers are basifixed and open via longitudinal slits.
The ovary and style are rudimentary.
Female flowers have a small hairy ovary with 2 locules.
There is a single style up to 10 mm long with hairs on its base.
The end of the style with the stigma may be straight, bent or twisted.
The infertile stamens are only 2 mm or so long.
The inflated, bi-lobed loculicidal capsules are up to 1.5 cm long and 3 cm wide.
They have a few small stellate hairs externally.
Capsules ripen from green to orange, yellow or red.
The 2 shiny black seeds only have a rudimentary aril.
J.F.
