About Harpullia rhyticarpa C.T.White
Harpullia rhyticarpa C.T.White, commonly called the slender harpullia, is an evergreen, spindly understory tree. It typically grows to 4 m (13 ft) high, and occasionally reaches 6 m (20 ft). Its foliage is glossy dark green, made up of compound leaves with 8 to 10 leaflets. The petiole (leaf stalk) and rachis (central leaf stalk of a compound leaf) may or may not be winged, and the petiole is swollen at the point where it connects to the twig. Leaflets grow up to 17 cm (6.7 in) long and 5.5 cm (2.2 in) wide, and connect to the rachis via a very short petiolule (leaflet stem). Inflorescences (flower clusters) grow from leaf axils, are pendulous, and can reach up to 70 cm (28 in) long. The flowers have a strong sweet scent; their sepals are about 10 mm (0.39 in) long, brown-green in colour, and densely hairy, while their petals are about 14 mm (0.55 in) long, white, and glabrous (smooth, hairless). The fruit is a velvety, yellow to reddish bilocular capsule around 2 cm (0.79 in) long. Each locule (chamber within the capsule) usually holds two black seeds, and each seed is almost completely covered by a yellow or red aril (fleshy seed coating).
This species is only found in coastal rainforests of northeastern Queensland, Australia, ranging from near Cooktown to Cardwell, and it is common on the Atherton Tableland within this range. It grows in well-developed rainforest at altitudes from near sea level up to around 1,200 m (3,900 ft).
It has been proposed as a suitable plant for tropical gardens, though it requires specific growing conditions. As of 21 September 2023, there is little evidence that the species has been widely adopted by landscapers. In Cairns, which lies at the centre of the species' natural range, only two specimens are listed in the Cairns Council's treeplotter database, and both are located at the Cairns Botanic Gardens.
