Hedraianthera

Hedraianthera porphyropetala is a shrub or small tree growing to about 6 m (20 ft) tall. The leaves are elliptic to ovate and grow up to 17 cm (6.7 in) long and 6 cm (2.4 in) wide. They are dark green above, lighter below, and the margins are without teeth or lobes. They have between five and eight lateral veins on either side of the midvein. Flowers may be either solitary or are carried on a raceme, and the pedicels (flower stalks) are up to 25 mm (1 in) long. They have five reddish petals and are about 10 mm (0.4 in) diameter. The calyx lobes are about 1 mm (0.04 in) long, the stigma and ovary are five-lobed, as is the capsular fruit.

The natural range of this species is from the far northeast of New South Wales around Ballina, north along the east coast to Cooktown at the base of Cape York Peninsula. It grows beach forest and both sub-tropical and tropical rainiforest. The altitudinal range in north Queensland is sea level to about 1,000 m (3,300 ft). They are an unusually southern example of ramiflory.

The generic name Hedraianthera is from Greek, it refers to the flower anthers without stalks. The specific epithet porphyropetala is also from Greek, it alludes to the attractive deep purple coloured flowers, although the species definition includes plants which have different coloured flowers such as green.