Myrsine howittiana

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Real question, why do you both not say *Myrsine variabilis* ?
Real question meaning i can learn something or youse can learn something or we all can learn something.

Ref's (in brief, without full citations):

Flora of NSW online PlantNet :
• https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=gn&name=Myrsine
• https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Myrsine~howittiana
• https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Myrsine~variabilis
.

M. variabilis has tinner, usually smaller leaves and nearly always with some marginal teeth.

Okay.

I'm referring to the botanical key and diagnostic features in the Flora of NSW online PlantNet (linked above) of,
quotation:
"
2
• Petiole 7–20 mm long: terminal buds rusty hairy (red-furry) *Myrsine howittiana*
• Petiole 3–7 mm long; terminal buds glabrous or hairy with white to brownish hairs, but not red-furry 3

3
• Leaves glossy, leathery, margins usually toothed with stiff teeth, not undulate, mostly oblanceolate; flowers mostly 4-merous; widespread in rainforest and open forest north from Milton *Myrsine variabilis*

• Leaves not glossy, not leathery, margins entire and undulate, mostly elliptic; flowers usually 5-merous; grows in or on the ecotone of subtropical rainforest on the north coast, from the Richmond R. to the Mt Warning area *Myrsine richmondensis*
.
"

This plant's terminal buds do not look "red furry" rusty hairy to me
compared with "brownish hairs, but not red-furry" .

I'm used to the spines on the leaves of *Myrsine variabilis* too,
yet in adult leaves (not juvenile nor suckers), trees of this species may have not even any sign of spines on the leaves : https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Myrsine~variabilis .

In this sighting i note the importance of the distiguishing petiole lengths between these two species,
which remains the main reason i question this identification of *Myrsine howittiana* and suggest these petioles appear all 3–7 mm long – that visual guestimate which most of all suggested to me this may identify to *Myrsine variabilis* . Obviously regarding a visual guestimate i could easily have that guestimate wrong .

Sometimes eh!? we all do have to look again and again really closely for double checking identifications of plants .

Lisa @lbradley please give us some answer by measurement of how long these petioles are ?
(petioles means the stalk of the leaf from the point it attaches to the stem to the point at which the blade of the leaf starts to spread out of that stalk : https://ausflora.net/image-glossary/petiole/ ).

Sorry, but I know these trees intimately and can assure you of the ID.

Okay thank you Kevin.
I leave this sighting .