Tropical quandong facts for kids

The Elaeocarpus largiflorens, also known as the tropical quandong, is a beautiful flowering plant. It belongs to the Elaeocarpaceae family and grows only in Queensland, Australia. This tree can be medium or large in size. It often has special roots that look like supports at the bottom of its trunk. Its leaves are usually oval-shaped, and its flowers are a lovely reddish-brown color.

What Does the Tropical Quandong Look Like?

The tropical quandong is a tree that usually grows to be about 15 to 30 meters (50 to 100 feet) tall. Sometimes, it has large, flat buttress roots at the base of its trunk. These roots help the tree stay stable.

When the tree is young, its new leaves and shoots are covered with short, reddish-brown hairs. The leaves are shaped like an ellipse (an oval), about 80 to 120 millimeters (3 to 5 inches) long and 45 to 75 millimeters (2 to 3 inches) wide. They grow on a stalk called a petiole, which is 20 to 55 millimeters (about 1 to 2 inches) long.

The flowers grow in groups of up to twenty on a main stem called a rachis, which is 30 to 70 millimeters (1 to 3 inches) long. Each flower has its own small stalk, or pedicel, about 5 to 10 millimeters (0.2 to 0.4 inches) long. Like the young leaves, the flowers are also covered with reddish-brown hairs.

Each flower has five sepals, which are like small, leaf-like parts that protect the bud. These sepals are egg-shaped, about 5.5 to 6 millimeters long. There are also five petals, which are the colorful parts of the flower. They are oblong, about 6.5 to 8 millimeters long. Inside the flower, there are many stamens (60 to 70 of them!), which are the parts that produce pollen. They are tightly packed around the ovary, which is where the seeds will form.

Tropical quandong trees usually flower from January to March. The fruit is an oval-shaped drupe, which is a fleshy fruit with a hard pit inside (like a peach or cherry). These fruits are about 16 to 17 millimeters (0.6 to 0.7 inches) long and 10 to 11 millimeters (0.4 inches) wide. You can usually see the fruits on the tree from September to December.

Naming the Tropical Quandong

The tropical quandong was first officially described in 1933 by a scientist named Cyril Tenison White. He wrote about it in a scientific paper after collecting samples near Malanda in 1923.

Later, in 1984, another scientist named Mark James Elgar Coode identified two different types, or subspecies, of Elaeocarpus largiflorens. These subspecies are recognized by the Australian Plant Census:

• Elaeocarpus largiflorens subsp. largiflorens: The main veins on its leaves curve smoothly.
• Elaeocarpus largiflorens subsp. retinervis: The main veins on its leaves have a zig-zag pattern.

Where Does the Tropical Quandong Grow?

The tropical quandong tree grows in rainforests. You can find it in north-east and central-eastern Queensland, Australia. It grows at high places, up to 1200 meters (about 3,900 feet) above sea level. The subspecies retinervis is found only in a specific area, around Mount Spurgeon and Mount Lewis.

Is the Tropical Quandong Safe?

Good news! Both types (subspecies) of the tropical quandong are considered "least concern" by the Queensland Government. This means they are not currently at risk of disappearing. They are protected under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.