China grass
Foliage, flowers and fruit
Conservation status
Least Concern ( NCA) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Urticaceae
Genus:	Debregeasia
Species:	D. australis
Binomial name
Debregeasia australis Friis, Wilmot-Dear & C.J.Chen [2] [3]

Debregeasia australis, commonly known as china grass or native ramie, is a plant in the nettle family Urticaceae endemic to Queensland, Australia.

Description

Debregeasia australis is a shrub or small tree growing to about 5 m (16 ft) tall, but will flower and fruit at about 2 m (6 ft 7 in). The leaves are broadly ovate, up to 17 cm (6.7 in) long and 14 cm (5.5 in) wide, green above and bright white underneath, and the margins (edges) are toothed. They have 3–4 pairs of lateral veins, the first pair of which depart from the midrib at the very base of the leaf blade and extend about 2/3 of the way to the apex. The petiole measures up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long, and the stipules up to 8 mm (0.31 in) long. ^{[4] [5]}

The inflorescences occur in the leaf axils and consist of clusters of very small flowers - male flowers are about 1 mm (0.04 in) long while female flowers are about 0.5 mm (0.02 in) long. The fruit is an achene about 0.7 mm (0.03 in) long. ^{[4] [5]}

Taxonomy

This species was first described by the botanists Ib Friis, Christine Melanie Wilmot-Dear and Chia Jui Chen, and published in the Edinburgh Journal of Botany in 2012. ^[6] Prior to this, the Queensland plants had been misidentified as Boehmeria nivea. ^[5]

Distribution and habitat

This species is endemic to Queensland, from the Mackay area north to about Cape Tribulation. ^[7] It occurs mostly on the sub-coastal tablelands at 400–1,000 m (1,300–3,300 ft), occasionally reaching the coastal lowlands, and it grows on rainforest margins and beside streams in very wet areas. ^{[4] [5]}

Conservation

This species is listed by the Queensland Government's Department of Environment, Science and Innovation as least concern. ^[1] As of 8 April 2024 ^[update], it has not been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Gallery

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  X-ray of lead
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  Foliage and flowers
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  Foliage and flowers
• 
  Seedling growing beside Babinda Creek

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Debregeasia australis.

• View a map of herbarium collections of this species at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium
• View observations of this species on iNaturalist
• View images of this species on Flickriver.com