Maple silkwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Maple silkwood |
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Flindersia
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pimenteliana
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Flindersia pimenteliana, commonly known as maple silkwood, red beech or rose silkwood, is a type of tree that grows naturally in New Guinea and Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Rutaceae family, which includes citrus trees like oranges and lemons. This tree has leaves made up of several smaller leaflets, and it produces red or reddish flowers. Its fruit is covered with rough bumps.
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What Does Maple Silkwood Look Like?
Maple silkwood trees can grow very tall, sometimes reaching up to 36 meters (about 118 feet) high! Their leaves are called pinnate, which means they have a main stem with smaller leaflets arranged along it, like a feather. Each leaf is usually between 70 and 250 millimeters (about 3 to 10 inches) long.
The leaves have three to seven leaflets, which are shaped like an egg or an oval. These leaflets are typically 35 to 120 millimeters (about 1.4 to 4.7 inches) long and 13 to 50 millimeters (about 0.5 to 2 inches) wide. The side leaflets have a short stalk, while the leaflet at the very end has a longer stalk.
The flowers of the maple silkwood grow in clusters called panicles, which are about 90 to 170 millimeters (about 3.5 to 6.7 inches) long. Each flower has five small green parts called sepals, which are about 1 millimeter long. It also has five red or reddish petals, each about 2.5 to 4 millimeters long. These trees usually bloom from November to February.
After flowering, the tree produces a woody fruit called a capsule. This fruit is about 60 to 90 millimeters (about 2.4 to 3.5 inches) long and is covered with rough, bumpy points that can be up to 4 millimeters long. When the fruit is ripe, it splits open into five sections, releasing flat, winged seeds that are about 40 to 60 millimeters (about 1.6 to 2.4 inches) long. These wings help the seeds to float away in the wind.
How Maple Silkwood Got Its Name
The scientific name Flindersia pimenteliana was first officially described in 1875 by a scientist named Ferdinand von Mueller. He wrote about it in a book called Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae. The specimens he studied were collected near a place called Rockingham Bay by another person named John Dallachy.
Where Does Maple Silkwood Grow?
Maple silkwood trees grow in rainforests in both Australia and New Guinea. In Australia, you can find them at different heights, from 20 meters (about 66 feet) up to 1250 meters (about 4100 feet) above sea level. They are found in north Queensland, from a place called Mount Finnigan (which is in Cedar Bay National Park) all the way down to Mount Fox.
Why Is Maple Silkwood Special?
The wood from the maple silkwood tree is known for being very good quality and beautiful. It has been used to make decorative furniture and cabinets. However, it's quite hard to find this timber now because most of these trees grow in protected areas like national parks. This means they cannot be cut down for wood. People have tried to grow these trees on special farms, called plantations, but so far, these attempts have not been successful. This makes the timber from maple silkwood very rare and valuable.
