Historical notes: Distinguishing features: Distinguished within the M. plurinervia group by the short leaves with short, broad leaflets. Distribution and habitat: A rare species, occurring in a few small stands in Sundown National Park, in dry eucalypt woodlands on skeletal soils on slopes. Conservation status: A rare species known only from a few small stands, all of which are conserved in the Sundown National Park (IUCN Red List category VU; ROTAP category 2Vcat). Gazetted as a Rare or Threatened Plant under Queensland Nature Conservation legislation. 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants category R.
Description:
Plants acaulescent, stem 10-20 cm diam. Leaves 1-5 in crown, deep green to grey-green, semiglossy, 40-75 cm long, moderately keeled, with 80-120 leaflets; rachis strongly spirally twisted, straight, stiff or recurved, arching stiffly downwards; petiole 10-25 cm long, straight or recurved, unarmed, 6-10 mm wide at lowest leaflets; basal leaflets not reducing to spines. Leaflets simple, strongly discolorous; margins flat, or incurved (slightly); apex entire to dentate, not spinescent; median leaflets 60-200 mm long, 4-10 mm wide. Pollen cones fusiform, 10-24 cm long, 3.5-5 cm diam.; microsporophyll lamina 15-25 mm long, 10-17 mm wide; apical spine 0-5 mm long. Seed cones ovoid, 10-14 cm long, 5-8 cm diam.; megasporophyll lamina 20-25 mm long, megasporophyll with an expanded peltate apex 20-30 mm wide, 10-13 mm high; apical spine 3-20 mm long. Seeds ovoid, 18-25 mm long, 15-22 mm wide; sarcotesta red.
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