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Austrobaileya ScandensAustrobaileya Scandens is a very primitive form of vegetation that is millions of years old. It is only found in the Daintree Rainforest and is rare and endemic to the area. Austrobaileya Scandens is the only member of its species, which is the only species of its family Austrobaileyaceae. Austrobaileya is a primitive vine/canopy liane that does not just grow leaves but fruit and flowers too! This plant is in fact the oldest flowing plant in Australia that requires pollination. Austrobaileya has a habit of its foliage burning in direct sunlight, so it prefers to stay well beneath the rainforest canopy where it enjoys living in low-sunlight, wet and damp areas. Austrobaileya has fortunately adapted well to the Daintree, as it can wind around the tall woody trees, which form the rainforest canopy. The tropical, damp, humid and low-light under story of the rainforest where Austrobaileya Scandens is confined to is perfect for its photosynthesis where this unique plant has the ability to channel the amount of light received in the low-light conditions of the rainforest so it can intake more light than what is present in the under story. Austrobaileya, like many other flowing plants growing in the low-light of tropical rainforest understory, does not have palisade mesophyll tissue or low leaf photosynthetic rates, but do rely strongly on vegetive reproduction for the continuation on of the species. Austrobaileyas vines are woody and evergreen. Its main stem is loosely twining with extending straight, leafy branches. The plant also may leave an odd blue-green colour. The leaves of Austrobaileya are evergreen, leathery, veined and simples. They contain essential oils contained in spherical ethereal oil cells within the leaves. Austrobaileya flowers are a dead giveaway for identifying the plant, alike with many primitive flowing vegetation. They are arranged in a spiral and their petals are pale green. Austrobaileya flowers can be described as large and solitary and are pollinated by flies. To attract flies, Austrobaileya Scandenss flowers amazingly smell of rotting fish! Austrobaileya Scandens contains fruit, growing from its vines. The fruit is apricot coloured and contain tightly packed seeds in the shape of chestnuts. The fruit is shaped in a similar fashion to that of a pear or eggplant. Fruit from Austrobaileya has been known to grow up to sizes of 7cm in length by 5cm. Austrobaileya itself can grow up to 15m/50ft! In the Daintree Rainforest, over 1000 species of plant/vegetation is recorded. Over 700 of these are endemic to Australia and approximately 500 are endemic to the area. 66% of these 500 species have no other species in their family such as Austrobaileya Scandens. The uniqueness of Austrobaileya is one of many primitive plants found in the Daintree that have braved millions of years of climatic change and disasters and have managed to survive into the modern day world as a reflection of the prehistoric period.
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