Gillbeea whypallana

Gillbeea whypallana, commonly known as pink alder, is a species of plant in the family Cunoniaceae. It is native to a small part of the Wet Tropics bioregion of Queensland, Australia, from about Rossville southwards to the Mount Lewis National Park. It is a tree to about 20 m (66 ft) tall, which grows in rainforest, particularly in close proximity to watercourses.^[4][5]

Gillbeea whypallana is a tree growing to about 20 m (66 ft) in height and up to 50 cm (20 in) diameter with nondescript bark, with a straight trunk and nondescript bark. Stipules are quite large, about 10 mm (0.39 in) wide and long, with toothed margins. The leaves are compound with up to seven leaflets, including a terminal leaflet. Most parts of the plant are densely hairy.^[5][4]

The inflorescences are panicles appearing at the ends of the branches, and may be 30 cm (12 in) long. Flowers have four or five petals and sepals and are about 6 to 8 mm (0.24 to 0.31 in) diameter. They have ten stamens in two whorls, the outer ones about 2 mm (0.08 in) long, inner whorl about 1.2 mm (0.05 in) long. The ovary usually has three carpels, sometimes four, and the disc is orange. The fruit is a three- or four-winged samara.^[5][4]

It occurs in rainforest areas of northeast Queensland north of about Julatten, at altitudes from close to sea level up to about 1,100 m (3,600 ft). It favours wetter areas, such as gullies and beside watercourses.^[5][4]

As of October 2025, this species has been assessed to be of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and by the Queensland Government under its Nature Conservation Act.^[1][6]

• Map of herbarium collections of this species at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium
• Observations of this species on iNaturalist
• Images of this species on Flickriver.com