About Alyxia ilicifolia subsp. magnifolia (Bailey) P.I.Forst.
This plant, scientifically named Alyxia ilicifolia subsp. magnifolia (Bailey) P.I.Forst., is a shrub that grows to around 5 meters (16 feet) tall, and often begins flowering when it reaches only 2 meters (6 feet 7 inches) in height. Its leaves grow in whorls of three or four, are ovate in shape, and have approximately 50 lateral veins on each side of the midrib, which emerge at an angle of nearly 90° to the midrib. The leaf edges may bear several short, sharp spines around 3 mm (0.12 in) long. The plant produces branched cyme inflorescences that are roughly 20 mm (0.79 in) long. Its flowers are white, with a corolla tube measuring about 10 mm (0.39 in) long and corolla lobes that range from 3 to 7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) long. When ripe, the fruit is orange, sometimes resembles a string of beads, and can grow up to 23 mm (0.9 in) long and 12 mm (0.5 in) wide. This subspecies is restricted to rainforest on coastal ranges of northeast Queensland, Australia, at elevations above 600 m (2,000 ft), ranging from approximately Cooktown south to around Cardwell. It most commonly grows on soils formed from granite.
