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Telopea 8(4): 2000 
Illustrations: Williams & Harden (1979: 15); Harden (1990: 523). 
Bushy spreading, suckering small tree 5-10(-18) m high, well-branched and forming 
a dense leafy crown; freely suckering from the roots; bark fawnish, smooth or 
becoming finely scaly. Indumentum inconspicuous or absent on mature parts; buds, 
young shoots and leaves pubescent, glabrescent with age; inflorescence axes and 
perianth shortly and finely pubescent; leaf buds fawn pubescent with non-irritant 
hairs; stalked red glandular hairs present on young shoots, and terminating teeth on 
rachis wings, margins of stipules and pinnae. Seedling leaves not seen as no viable seeds 
are known to develop. Adult leaves ; (6-)10-33(-47.5) cm long; petiole 2.5-7.0 cm long; 
rachis prominently winged adaxially, wing mostly continuous on rachis, as separated 
segments on petiole, wing irregularly dentate, each tooth with a hair-like point; 
stipules 7-15 mm diam., margins dentate, persistent; pinnae (3-)5-9(-ll); terminal 
pinna mostly obovate to oblanceolate and tapering into petiolule, lateral pinnae 
narrow-ovate to narrow-obovate to oblong-oblanceolate, basal pinnae ovate to falcate- 
elliptic; apex acute to slightly acuminate, base ± equal in upper pinnae, unequal on 
lower pinnae, upper surface green and glossy, lower surface dull, and both surfaces 
glabrous, margins regularly dentate; secondary veins 6-9 pairs, raised on lower 
surface; largest pinnae (terminal or subterminal) usually (10-)13-17(-25) cm long, 
(4-)5-7(-8) cm wide; lower pinnae 1.7-9.3 cm long, 0.8-4.5 cm wide; petiolules 0-2 mm 
long, except for terminal petiolule 10-25 mm long; stipellae usually present at base of 
pinnae (especially lower pairs), narrow-lanceolate, 3-11 (-20) mm long, 1-3 mm wide, 
margins glandular-toothed. Inflorescences borne amongst the leaves, often terminal, 
elongated panicles, usually 10-20 cm long; peduncle 0.5-5 cm long; pedicels 0-1.0 mm 
long; bracts 3.0-4.0 mm long; bracteoles sessile, 2.0-3.0 mm long. Floivers 4- or 5- 
merous; sepals 3.1 —4.4 mm long, dark pink, both surfaces finely and shortly pubescent; 
stamens (6-)8-10, 3.5-5 mm long; filaments 4.1-6.0 mm long, anthers ellipsoid to 
obovoid, 1.4-2.2 mm long, yellow, pollen absent from flowers examined; ovary 1.0-1.7 mm 
long, pubescent, styles 2 or 3, 2.1—4.5 mm long, often reduced or absent; sometimes 
ovary vestigial or lacking. Fruit depressed-globose, 20-39 mm long, 25-60 mm wide, 
28-53 mm deep, reddish purple to purplish black; sprinkled with fine hairs, appearing 
smooth; mesocarp reddish; pyrenes usually 2 per fruit, sometimes 3, shape variable 
dependent on number, surface shortly and softly fibrous; pyrene body 0.9-1.2 cm long, 
1-0—1 • 1 cm wide, crest 1.4-1.7 mm long; seeds not known to develop within the 
pyrenes. (Fig. 5). 
Habitat and distribution: Davidsonia johnsonii usually grows in disturbed subtropical 
rainforest, or on margins of wet sclerophyll forest and gully rainforest, sometimes in 
disturbed areas, mostly from 15 to 260 m altitude. Usually on podsolic soils of variable 
structure, gleyed podsolics or kraznozems on basalt, often over Silurian greywacke, 
slate or phyllite; over Lismore basalt and its boundary with Nimbin rhyolite; and over 
Lamington volcanics. Dominant species include Eucalyptus grandis and Lophostemon 
confertus in wet sclerophyll forest, and with many species in rainforest including 
Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia, Diploglottis australis, Acacia melanoxylon, Castanospora alphandii, 
Omalanthus populifolius. 
This taxon has a very scattered distribution and is known from a limited number of 
small populations, north from Tintenbar in New South Wales to near Natural Bridge 
(Watson 1987) and Upper Tallebudgera (McDonald pers. comm. 2000) and Upper 
Currumbin valleys in southern Queensland (Fig. 4), a distance of about 120 km and an 
east-west range of 30 km. Mostly occurs as groups of several mature trees, with many 
saplings and young plants that have developed from root suckers. 
