Coelospermumpurpureum Halford & A.J.Ford 
(Rubiaceae), a new species from north-east Queensland 
D.A. Halford 1 & A. J. Ford 2 
Summary 
Halford, D.A. & Ford, A.J. (2009). Coelospermum purpureum Halford & A.J.Ford (Rubiaceae), a 
new species from north-east Queensland. Austrobaileya 8(1): 69-76. Coelospermum purpureum 
Halford & A.J.Ford is described, illustrated and diagnosed against allied species. Notes on habitat, 
distribution, and conservation status are provided. A key to the species of Coelospermum in Australia 
is presented. 
Key Words: Coelospermum purpureum, Coelospermum, Rubiaceae, Australian flora, Queensland 
flora, taxonomy, identification key, new species 
'D.A.Halford, c/- Queensland Herbarium, Department of Environment and Resource Management, 
Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mt Coot-tha road, Toowong, Queensland 4066, Australia 
2 A. J.Ford, CSIRO, Sustainable Ecosystems, Tropical Forest Research Centre, RO. Box 780, Atherton, 
Queensland 4883, Australia 
Introduction 
Fertile collections of the species here described 
as Coelospermum purpureum have been in the 
Queensland Herbarium (BRI) since the 1950s 
and originally were tentatively identified as 
Randia sp., assumingly as it is a tall shrub 
or small tree, and later (1990s) listed as 
Randia sp. (Boonjee L.W.Jessup+ GJM264) 
(Reynolds & Halford 1997). Puttock & Quinn 
(1999) were not aware of the material and it 
was not assessed as part of their study of the 
generic placement of the Australian species of 
Randia L. sens. lat. The material was brought 
to the first author’s attention in 2006 by Dr 
Aaron Davis (K) who was of the opinion that 
its affinities possibly laid with Prismatomeris 
Thw. 
Prismatomeris consist of fifteen species 
of shrubs and small trees that occur in 
South-east Asia (Johansson 1987) and 
was initially placed in the Rubiaceae tribe 
Morindeae Miq. (Hooker 1873). Recent 
anatomical and molecular studies strongly 
support the separation of Prismatomeris and 
several closely related genera ( Gentingia 
J.T.Johanss. & Wong, Motleyia J.T.Johanss. 
and Rennellia Korth.) from the Morindeae 
sens. str. (Igersheim & Robbrecht 1993; 
Razafimandimbison et al. 2008). 
Accepted for publication 1 September 2009 
The current authors have critically 
examined the pollen, flowers and fruits 
of Randia sp. (Boonjee L.W.Jessup+ 
GJM264) and concluded that it belongs in 
the Rubiaceae tribe Morindeae sens. str. 
and is mostly correctly placed in the genus 
Coelospermum Blume. Johansson (1988) 
distinguished Coelospermum from Morinda 
mainly on pollen-morphological characters 
‘the lumina of the sexine being much larger 
in Coelospermum with few or numerous 
luminal processes’. Leaf material of Randia 
sp. (Boonjee L.W.Jessup+ GJM264) was 
sent by the second author to Dr Sylvain 
Razafimandimbison (Bergius Foundation, 
Stockholm) so it could be included in his 
molecular ( rps\6 intron, frwT-F, nrETS and 
nrlTS) studies of the Morindeae sens. str. He 
found that the sample grouped with the other 
sequenced Coelospermum species andresolved 
as sister to the Australian C. paniculatum var. 
syncarpum J.T.Johanss. (Razafimandimbison 
et al., unpublished data). 
The genus Coelospermum is distributed 
throughout South-east Asia, Malesia(including 
New Guinea), Melanesia and Australia and 
currently comprises eight species (Johansson 
1988; Halford & Ford 2004), most of which 
are lianas. Two species of Coelospermum are 
recorded for Australia (both lianas), namely 
C. paniculatum F.Muell. and C. dasylobum 
