74 Austrobaileya 8 ( 1 ): 69-76 ( 2009 ) 
Table 1. Morphological comparison between C. dasylobum, C. paniculatum and 
C. purpureum. 
Character 
C. dasylobum 
C. paniculatum 
C. purpureum 
habit 
twining vine or 
scandent shrub with 
long arching stems 
liana 
bushy shrub to small 
tree 
corolla tube length 
5-7 mm 
3-6 mm 
8-13 mm 
corolla lobes 
densely hairy adaxially 
glabrous 
glabrous 
corolla lobes length 
5-7.5 mm 
6-7 mm 
9.5-13 mm 
young stems and 
inflorescences 
branches 
glabrous 
hispidulous 
glabrous 
fruit colour 
yellow-orange to 
yellow-brown 
red to purple 
yellow-orange 
fruit form 
compound syncarpous 
drupe 
simple drupe 
or compound 
syncarpous drupe 
simple drupe 
rarely compound 
syncarpous drupe 
inflorescence 
many-flowered 
paniculate umbel¬ 
like dichasial cymes 
or rarely axillary 
dichasial cymes 
many-flowered 
paniculate umbel¬ 
like dichasial 
cymes or rarely 
axillary dichasial 
cymes 
2 to 4-flowered 
umbel-like, 
pedunculate dichasia 
tertiary venation on 
lower leaf surface 
raised 
not raised 
not raised 
domatia 
present 
present 
absent 
Key to the species of Coelospermum in Australia 
1 Shrub or small tree, erect, flowers usually simple and on long and slender 
pedicels.C. purpureum 
1. Woody vine, twining or scandent, flowers usually arranged into dense, 
many flowered clusters.2 
2 Young stems glabrous; corolla lobes densely hairy on adaxial surface 
.C. dasylobum 
2. Young stems with fine short hairs; corolla lobes glabrous on adaxial 
surface.C. paniculatum 
Conservation status : Most existing 
collections of Coelospermum purpureum have 
been made within the World Heritage Area of 
the Wet Tropics. Coelospermum purpureum 
has been collected in Cedar Bay, Daintree and 
Wooroonooran National Parks. It has a wide, 
but restricted and disjunct geographical range, 
with an extent of occurrence estimated to be 
680 km * 1 2 and an area of occupation estimated 
to be 550 km 2 ; however, it is not considered at 
risk at this time. This is despite C. purpureum 
fulfilling some of the Geographical Range 
criteria of IUCN (2001), viz. VUB1 or VUB2, 
however there is no evidence to support a 
