Etymology:
Latin, communis, common or occurring in abundance, from the dense stands frequently seen in the wild.
Historical notes: Distinguishing features: M. communis is distinguished by the dull, dark green leaves with thick, hypostomatic leaflets and more or less terete petioles with few reduced spine-like leaflets, and the large male and female cones with long and broad spines terminating the sporophylls. Distribution and habitat: New South Wales, from Taree to Bega, strictly near-coastal in the north of the range but extending to the foothills of coastal ranges in the south. Locally abundant in wet to dry sclerophyll forests, mostly on old beach sands but also on shallow sandy or stony soils on ridges. Conservation status: Not considered to be at risk.
Description:
Plants acaulescent or arborescent (rarely), stem 0-1.5 m tall, 40-90 cm diam. Leaves 50-150 in crown, deep green, semiglossy, 140-250 cm long, flat (not keeled) in section, with 70-150 leaflets; rachis not spirally twisted, straight, lax and pendulous; petiole 12-40 cm long, straight, spinescent, 10-16 mm wide at lowest leaflets; basal leaflets reducing to spines. Leaflets simple, strongly discolorous; margins flat; apex entire, spinescent; median leaflets 160-360 mm long, 8-13 mm wide. Pollen cones narrowly ovoid to fusiform, 25-45 cm long, 8-12 cm diam.; microsporophyll lamina 20-40 mm long, 15-25 mm wide; apical spine 5-50 mm long. Seed cones ovoid, 20-45 cm long, 10-20 cm diam.; megasporophyll lamina 40-70 mm long, stipe 30-45 mm long, megasporophyll with an expanded peltate apex 30-85 mm wide, 15-43 mm high; apical spine 8-80 mm long. Seeds flattened-ovoid, 30-45 mm long, 20-30 mm wide; sarcotesta red.
|
