Hugonia jenkinsii F.Muell.

Liana to 40 m, rarely small tree to 3 m, or climbing shrub, up to 10 cm diam. Climbing shoots with first internodium (2.5—)6—18 cm, following internodia very short with some distichously arranged, reduced, linear to orbicular leaves, a few of these shoots with a long-peduncled, reduced inflorescence or a climbing hook, or the climbing shoot above the hooks growing out to a leafy and often fertile branch. Hooks distichously or subopposite, woody, (3.5-) 6.5-8.5 cm long, apically often with bract-like organs, peduncles, cymes, or reduced leaves. Stipules entire, obtuse to acute, with or without glandular teeth, persistent or sometimes caducous, sometimes only present as a glandular tooth, subulate or triangular, 0.5-0.8 by 0.2-0.8 mm. Leaves glabrous (rarely some hairs on midrib), narrowly elliptic to obovate, sometimes broadly elliptic or ovate, sometimes asymmetric, (6-)ll-27(-36) by (1.6-)3-9.5 (-11) cm; base cuneate, seldom rounded; margin often wavy, glandular-crenulate to crenate, apex acute to acuminate, rarely obtuse, acumen up to 2 cm; nerves 7-16 pairs, slightly arching upwards and almost reaching the margin, meeting in an often somewhat obscure intramarginal vein or in the dense reticulatron; petiole 3-20 mm. Inflorescence an axillary or terminal compound panicle, sometimes a raceme; terminal panicles often leafy, cone-shaped to obovoid, (4-)12-18(-32) by (2.5-)1.5-14 cm with 5-25(-30) more or less closely set subinflorescences, sometimes up to 5(-8) pseudoterminal panicles together; axillary panicles patent, narrowly obovoid to broadly ellipsoid, (2—)6—11(—12) by (l-)2-6.5 cm, with (4-) 10-23 subinflorescences; peduncle up to 6.5 cm; cymes up to 15, 0-5 times branched; bracts persistent, obtuse deltoid, (1.5-)2.5-5 by 0.2-1 mm, with 2-6 glandular teeth. Pedicel articulate and often thickened below the flower, 1.5-3 mm. Bracteoles like the bracts but smaller. Flowers heterodis-tylous, 7-9 by 5-9 mm. Sepals ± orbicular to transversely broadly elliptic, (1.8-)2-3(-4) by 2-4(-4.5) mm, shortly connate to free, appressed but patent in fruit, outer 2 smaller and thicker. Petals recurving during anthesis, narrowly elliptic to-obovate, 6-9.5 by 1.5 —3(—4) mm; base often indistinctly 0.8 mm clawed. Stamens shortly persistent, obdiplostemon-ous, in short-styled flowers (4.5-)4.8-6 and (5—)5.5—7.5 mm, in long-styled flowers (2.5-) 3.8-4.5(-4.8) and (3.8-)4.2-5(-5.8) mm; tube 1 —1.5(—2) mm, partly persistent in fruit; base often irregularly thickened or marked by darker coloured semi-ellipsoid, sometimes apically notched, staminal glands at the base of long or short stamens, these later becoming connate with each other; filaments triangular at base, apically filiform. Ovary 5-loculed, ovoid to broadly ellipsoid, 1-2 by 0.8-1.2 mm; styles 5, basally shortly connate and apically (in short-and long-styled forms) hooked or sigmoidly curved or (in long-styled forms) slightly arching to curving downwards, sometimes of different length, in short-styled flowers (1—)1.5—2.8 mm, in long-styled flowers (3-)3.2-3.5(-5.2) mm; stigma 2-lobed. Drupe 15-ribbed, ovoid to subglobose, (8—)10—13 by (7—)8-10.5 mm, splitting into 5 pyrenes; mesocarp fleshy, surrounding the pyrenes, between the pyrenes often disappearing thus giving rise to a false locule; endocarp bony, thin, 3-ribbed, ribs branching, the branches connected by bony septa, forming cavities filled with aerenchyma; septa and aerenchyma dissolving when ripe. Seed 1 or 0 in each pyrene, ventrally-apically attached by a short funicle, medially flattened, asymmetrically semi-ellipsoid, c. 8.5 by 3.5 mm; hilum and arillus not obvious; testa thin, 2-layered. Embryo c. 8 by 3 mm; radicle flattened, arched, c. 1.5 by 2.5 mm. Endosperm fleshy.

Primary and secondary forests, often on well drained places or along rivers, also along estuaries or mangroves, locally rather scarce to common; up to 2000 m. Fl. Jan.-Nov.; fr. Feb.-Nov.

Uses. In Queensland the Tully River natives use the climbing hooks as fish hooks.