Fontainea fugax

Fontainea fugax is a shrub endemic to Queensland, in the family, Euphorbiaceae, growing up to 4 m. In 1997, F. fugax was considered "endangered" having been found in only in the central Burnett district and within an endangered community, threatened by weeds, repeated fires and clearing.^[2]

Fontainea fugax
Conservation status
Endangered  (EPBC Act)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Euphorbiaceae
Genus:	Fontainea
Species:	F. fugax
Binomial name
Fontainea fugax P.I.Forst.[1][2]

Description

Fontainea fugax is a dioecious shrub growing to 4 m. The stems have a clear exudate. New shoots have sparse, antrorse (upward pointing) trichomes. There are no stipules and the leaves have petioles. The upper surfaces of the leaves are dark-green and the lower surfaces, pale-green. This plant is very like Fontainea rostrata, but differs in that the base of the petiole is not swollen; the male flowers are shorter than those of F. rostrata (6-8 mm vs 11-13 mm); the number of stamens is 24 (versus 28–40); the beak of the endocarp is shorter (1-1.7 mm vs 2-3 mm) and the faces between the sutures of the endocarp are weakly corrugated (weakly rugose versus strongly rugose).^[2]

Distribution and habitat

Fontainea fugax is known only from an area between Gayndah and Mundubbera, in south-east Queensland, with plants growing as understorey shrubs in a semi-evergreen vine thicket dominated by Backhousia kingii.^[2]

Taxonomy and naming

The plant was first described by Paul Irwin Forster in "Three new species of Fontainea Heckel (Euphorbiaceae) from Australia and Papua New Guinea".^[1][2] The holotype AQ 650045 was collected on February 9, 1994, on the Gurgeena Plateau (Burnett district, Queensland) at a height of 360 m.^[3]

The specific epithet, fugax, derives from the Latin for "fleeting" and refers to the fleeting flowering material of this species, with female flowers not having been seen.^[2]