Knightia R. Br.

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Credits

Article from New Trees by John Grimshaw & Ross Bayton

Recommended citation
'Knightia' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/knightia/). Accessed 2025-03-15.

Family

Proteaceae

Species in genus

Knightia excelsa

Glossary

alternate: Attached singly along the axis not in pairs or whorls.
apex: (pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
axillary: Situated in an axil.
caducous: Falling off early.
dentate: With evenly triangular teeth at the edge. (Cf. crenate teeth rounded; serrate teeth saw-like.)
entire: With an unbroken margin.
follicle: Dry dehiscent fruit containing numerous seeds derived from a single carpel.
perianth: Calyx and corolla. Term used especially when petals and sepals are not easily distinguished from each other.
petiolate: Bearing a petiole.
simple: (of a leaf) Unlobed or undivided.
style: Generally an elongated structure arising from the ovary bearing the stigma at its tip.

References

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Credits

Article from New Trees by John Grimshaw & Ross Bayton

Recommended citation
'Knightia' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/knightia/). Accessed 2025-03-15.

The spire-like shape of Knightia excelsa gives it a distinctive outline in its native New Zealand. Image J.R.P. van Hoey Smith.

Knightia comprises three species: one in New Zealand, which is cultivated, and two in New Caledonia. They are trees or shrubs with alternate, petiolate leaves, which are entire or dentate, simple or (rarely) forked. The inflorescences are in small, terminal or axillary groups. The flowers are numerous and in pairs; the floral bracts small or large, membranous or brightly coloured, usually caducous. The flowers are 4-merous; the perianth is cylindrical and the tepals curl spirally; the stamens have short filaments; the style is extended. The fruit is a woody follicle with two valves, and the seeds are winged at the apex (Allan 1961, Virot 1968).