Austrobaileya
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Austrobaileya is a genus of flowering plants native to Queensland state in northeastern Australia, consisting of two species of evergreen lianas, A. maculata and A. scandens. Austrobaileya is the sole genus in family Austrobaileyaceae.
Austrobaileya vines are woody and evergreen. Its main stem is loosely twining, with extending straight, leafy branches. The leaves of Austrobaileya are evergreen, leathery, veined and simple. Essential oils in spherical ethereal oil cells within the leaves.
Austrobaileya foliage tends to 'burn' in direct sunlight, so it prefers to stay well beneath the rainforest canopy where it enjoys living in low-sunlight, wet and damp areas. Austrobaileya, like many other flowing plants growing in the low-light of tropical rainforest understory, does not have palisade mesophyll tissue or low leaf photosynthetic rates. It relies strongly on vegetative reproduction for continuation of the species.
A. scandens is found only in the Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, and is rare and endemic to the area. It is the oldest flowering plant in Australia that requires pollination. Austrobaileya is one of many primitive plants found in the Daintree that have braved millions of years of climatic change and disasters and have managed to survive into the modern world as a reflection of the prehistoric period.
A. scandens is well adapted to the Daintree, where it can wind around the tall woody trees which form the rainforest canopy. The tropical, damp, humid, and low-light understory of the rainforest where A. scandens is confined is perfect for its photosynthesis, which is adapted to the low-light conditions of the rainforest.
A. scandens can grow up to 15m (50 ft). The plant has a distinctive blue-green colour foliage. Austrobaileya flowers are distinctive, arranged in a spiral with pale green petals. Austrobaileya flowers can be described as large and solitary and are pollinated by flies. To attract flies, A. scandens’ flowers release a smell like rotting fish.
A. scandens contains fruit, growing from its vines. The fruit is apricot-coloured and contain tightly packed seeds in the shape of chestnuts. The fruit is shaped in a similar fashion to that of a pear or eggplant. Fruit from Austrobaileya has been known to grow to sizes of 7 cm in length by 5 cm.
