Xanthostemon whitei

Atherton penda
In rainforest near Cairns, Queensland
Conservation status
Least Concern (NCA)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Xanthostemon
Species:	X. whitei
Binomial name
Xanthostemon whitei Gugerli[2][3]
Synonyms[3]
Xanthostemon pubescens C.T.White

Xanthostemon whitei, commonly known as Atherton penda or red penda, is a species of plants in the clove and eucalyptus family Myrtaceae found only in the Wet Tropics bioregion of Queensland, Australia. It is a large evergreen rainforest tree up to 45 m (148 ft) tall and a trunk diameter of up to 3 m (9.8 ft). Old trees have large buttresses and the trunk is marked by small hollows where bark has been shed. It was first described (informally) by Cyril Tenison White in 1917, and later formally described by German botanist Karl Gugerli.[4][5][6][7]

Its very hard timber meant that early timber cutters ignored the trees, and many large specimens can still be seen in the region's National Parks.[6][8]

Conservation

This species is listed as least concern under the Queensland Government's Nature Conservation Act.[1] As of December 2024^[update], it has not been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

References

1. "Species profile—Xanthostemon whitei". Queensland Department of Environment and Science. Queensland Government. 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
2. "Xanthostemon whitei". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
3. "Xanthostemon whitei Gugerli". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
4. F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Xanthostemon whitei". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
5. Wilson, P.G. (1990). "A revision of the genus Xanthostemon (Myrtaceae) in Australia" (PDF). Telopea. 3 (4): 451–476.
6. "Atherton Penda". Peterson Creek. Yungaburra Landcare Group Inc. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
7. White, C.T. (1917). "A new species of Xanthostemon (nat. ord. Myrtaceae) from north Queensland". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland. 29: 57. doi:10.5962/p.351430.
8. "Xanthostemon whitei". iNaturalist AU. Retrieved 31 December 2024.

External links

• View a map of herbarium collections of this species at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium
• View observations of this species on iNaturalist
• View images of this species on Flickriver.com