Idiospermum australiense (Diels) S.T.Blake
Idiot fruit tree, Green dinosaur
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Conservation Status
Last record: 1902
Rediscovered in 1971
Rediscovered twice. Including once after cattle were fatally poisoned from ingesting the seeds.
Distribution
Queensland, Australia
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Blake, S.T. (1972). Idiospermum (Idiospermaceae), a new genus and family for Calycanthus australiensis. Contributions from the Queensland Herbarium 12: 1-37.
Brophy, J.J. & Goldsack, R.J. (1992). The leaf essential oil of Idiospermum australiense (Diels) S.T.Blake. Flavour and Fragrance Journal 7(2): 79–80.
Cooper, W. & Cooper, W.T. (1994). Fruits of the Rain Forest. Chatswood: GEO Productions.
Cooper, W. & Cooper, W.T. (2004). Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Melbourne: Nokomis Editions.
Duke, R.K., Allan, R.D., Johnson, G.A.R., Mewett, K.N., Mitrovic, A.D., Duke, C.C. & Hambley, T.W. (1995). Idiospermuline, a trimeric pyrrolidinoindoline alkaloid from the seed of Idiospermum australiense. Journal of Natural Products 58(8): 1200-1208.
Edwards, W., Gadek, P., Weber, E. and Worboys, S. (2001). Idiosyncratic phenomenon of regeneration from cotyledons in the idiot fruit tree, Idiospermum australiense. Austral Ecology 26: 254-258.
Everist, S. L. (1981). Poisonous Plants of Australia, revised edn. (Angus and Robertson: Sydney).
Foreman, D. B. (1987). Notes on the wood anatomy of Idiospermum australiense (Idiospermaceae). Muelleria 6(5): 329-333.
Gordon, V. and Reddell, P. (2004). Occurrence of cyanogenic glycosides in seeds and seedlings of Idiospermum australiense, a primitive rainforest angiosperm from tropical Australia, pp. 157-161, in Acamovic, T., Stewart, C.S. & Pennycott, T.W. (eds), Poisonous Plants and Related Toxins. (CABI Publishing: Wallingford, Oxon, U.K.).
Holmes, Branden. (2021). What's Lost and What Remains: The Sixth Extinction in 100 Accounts (eBook). Self published.
Hyland, B.P.M., Whiffin, T., Zich, F.A., Duffy, S.M., Gray, B., Elick, R., Venter, F. & Christophel, D.C. (2010). Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants. Trees, Shrubs, Vines, Herbs, Grasses, Sedges, Palms, Pandans & Epiphytes. Version 6. (Ed. West, J.G.) (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne). Available at http://www.anbg.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/rfk/ [accessed November 2018]
Jessup, L. W. (2007). Idiospermaceae, pp. 103-105. In: Wilson, Annette J. G. (ed.). Flora of Australia, Volume 2 Winteraceae to Platanaceae. Melbourne: ABRS/CSIRO Publishing. xviii + 486 pp.
L.W. Jessup (2019) Idiospermum australiense. In: Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Idiospermum%20australiense [Date Accessed: 14 January 2020]
Johnson, Chris N. (2006). Australia's Mammal Extinctions: A 50 000 Year History. Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press. x + 278 pp. [p. 121]
Lamont, B. (1974). Idiospermum, a living primitive angiosperm. Search 5: 535–536.
McKenzie, R. (2012). Australia’s Poisonous Plants, Fungi and Cyanobacteria. (CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood, Victoria).
Williams, K.A.W. (1980). Native Plants of Queensland 2nd edn, 1: 162.
Wilson, C.L. (1976). Floral anatomy of Idiospermum australiense (Idiospermaceae). American Journal of Botany 63(7): 987–996.
Wilson, C.L. (1979). Idiospermum australiense (Idiospermaceae) - aspects of vegetative anatomy. American Journal of Botany 66(3): 280–289.
Worboys, S.J. (2003). Polycarpelly in Idiospermum australiense (Calycanthaceae). Austrobaileya 6(3): 553-556.
Worboys, S.J. & Jackes, B.R. (2005). Pollination processes in Idiospermum australiense (Calycanthaceae), an arborescent basal angiosperm of Australia's tropical rain forests. Plant Systematics and Evolution 251(2-4): 107–117.
https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2017/07/the-idiot-fruit-tree/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiospermum