Achyranthes margaretarum

Last updated

Achyranthes margaretarum
Achyranthes margaretarum de Lange (AM AK238188).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Achyranthes
Species:
A. margaretarum
Binomial name
Achyranthes margaretarum

Achyranthes margaretarum is a species of plant belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. It is endemic to Phillip Island, close to Norfolk Island in the south west Pacific Ocean, where it was discovered during the 1980s after rabbits had been eradicated from the island. This provides dramatic evidence of the value of the eradication program. It is considered critically endangered due to its very small population size - fewer than 20 mature individuals were known, in a single location on Phillip Island, in 2003. In 2009 Mills identified 22 plants on Phillip Island, including planted specimens, only nine higher than 50 cm.

This plant is similar to Achyranthes arborescens , an endemic from neighbouring Norfolk Island, but is a smaller, more compact shrub growing up to 2m tall with a 2m spread. A. margaretarum also differs in having small, rather fleshy, bronze-green leaves with yellow veins; small, erect inflorescences carrying just a few maroon-coloured flowers; and small top-shaped (rather than cylindrical) fruit.

[1] [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Howe Island</span> Island in the Tasman Sea, in New South Wales, Australia

Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies 600 km (320 nmi) directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, 780 km (420 nmi) northeast of Sydney, and about 900 km (490 nmi) southwest of Norfolk Island. It is about 10 km (6.2 mi) long and between 0.3 and 2.0 km wide with an area of 14.55 km2, though just 3.98 km2 of that comprise the low-lying developed part of the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biodiversity of New Caledonia</span> Variety of life in the New Caledonia archipelago and its seas

The biodiversity of New Caledonia is of exceptional biological and paleoecological interest. It is frequently referred to as a biodiversity hotspot. The country is a large South Pacific archipelago with a total land area of more than 18,000 square kilometres (6,900 sq mi). The terrain includes a variety of reefs, atolls, small islands, and a variety of topographical and edaphic regions on the largest island, all of which promote the development of unusually concentrated biodiversity. The region's climate is oceanic and tropical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Caledonia rain forests</span>

The New Caledonia rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion, located in New Caledonia in the South Pacific. It is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion, part of the Australasian realm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Island restoration</span>

The ecological restoration of islands, or island restoration, is the application of the principles of ecological restoration to islands and island groups. Islands, due to their isolation, are home to many of the world's endemic species, as well as important breeding grounds for seabirds and some marine mammals. Their ecosystems are also very vulnerable to human disturbance and particularly to introduced species, due to their small size. Island groups, such as New Zealand and Hawaii, have undergone substantial extinctions and losses of habitat. Since the 1950s several organisations and government agencies around the world have worked to restore islands to their original states; New Zealand has used them to hold natural populations of species that would otherwise be unable to survive in the wild. The principal components of island restoration are the removal of introduced species and the reintroduction of native species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser frigatebird</span> Species of bird

The lesser frigatebird is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. At around 75 cm (30 in) in length, it is the smallest species of frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtropical waters across the Indian and Pacific Oceans as well as off the Atlantic coast of Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vahanga</span>

Vahanga is a small uninhabited atoll part of the Acteon Group in the Tuamotu archipelago, French Polynesia and belongs to the municipality of the Gambier Islands.

<i>Amaranthus brownii</i> Extinct species of flowering plant

Amaranthus brownii was an annual herb in the family Amaranthaceae. The plant was found only on the small island of Nihoa in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, growing on rocky outcrops at altitudes of 120–215 m (394–705 ft). It was one of nine species of Amaranthus in the Hawaiian Islands, as well as the only endemic Hawaiian species of the genus. It is now considered extinct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phillip Island (Norfolk Island)</span> Island near Norfolk Island

Phillip Island is an island located 6 km (3.7 mi) south of Norfolk Island in the Southwest Pacific, and is part of the Norfolk Island group. It was named in 1788 by Lieutenant Philip Gidley King after Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales. Phillip Island is part of the Australian external territory of Norfolk Island, and is included in Norfolk Island National Park, as is neighbouring Nepean Island and about 10 percent of Norfolk Island proper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk Island National Park</span> Protected area in Norfolk Island, Australia

Norfolk Island National Park is a protected area of 6.50 km2 (2.51 sq mi) located at 29°2′0″S167°56′59″E in the South Pacific Ocean, about 1,471 kilometres off the East coast of Australia. The park’s area includes the Mount Pitt section on the namesake Norfolk Island with an area of 4.60 km2 (1.78 sq mi) / 460 ha, as well as the neighboring Phillip Island encompassing 1.90 km2 (0.73 sq mi) / 190 ha, and the much smaller Nepean Island. The Norfolk Island group is a Commonwealth of Australia external territory, and is the only place in the world where the Norfolk Island parakeet and the white-chested white-eye occur.

Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha, as well the other uninhabited islands nearby, are a haven for wildlife in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The islands are or were home to much endemic flora and fauna, especially invertebrates, and many endemic fish species are found in the reef ecosystems off the islands. The islands have been identified by BirdLife International as Important Bird Areas for both their endemic landbirds and breeding seabirds.

<i>Hibiscus insularis</i> Species of flowering plant

Hibiscus insularis, the Phillip Island hibiscus, is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family Malvaceae, that is endemic to Phillip Island, a small island to the south of Norfolk Island, Australia. The entire natural extent of this species is just two small clumps, and each clump apparently consists of multiple separate stems of a single genotype. It has been propagated and planted more widely on Phillip Island, but only vegetatively which does not increase the genetic diversity. Seedlings apparently have not been observed in the wild. It produces greenish-yellow flowers that fade to mauve through most of the year.

<i>Abutilon julianae</i> Species of flowering plant

Abutilon julianae is a small shrub of the genus Abutilon believed endemic to Norfolk Island and nearby Phillip Island.

<i>Coprosma baueri</i> Species of plant

Coprosma baueri is an endangered shrub species in the plant family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Norfolk Island, including nearby Phillip Island. Convict artist John Doody drew this species in 1792, its first record. He noted it grew only where exposed to the sea and was seldom taller than 3.7 m. He also recorded that its fruit are good to eat. Ferdinand Bauer collected the type specimen in 1804–05. In 2003 only about 228 mature plants were known. By 2009 Mills reported the number of plants on Phillip Island had increased to 446, about 170 of which were taller than one metre. Until rabbits were eradicated from Phillip Island it had been very rare there.

<i>Polystichum aleuticum</i> Species of fern

Polystichum aleuticum, the Aleutian holly fern or Aleutian shield fern, is an endangered species of the Polystichum genus and currently consisting of a small, vulnerable population endemic found only on Adak Island, Alaska, a remote island of the Aleutian Islands chain in the northern Pacific Ocean. In 1992, 112 specimens existed in the wild, and a recovery plan was implemented.

<i>Achyranthes aspera</i> Species of plant

Achyranthes aspera is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropical world. It can be found in many places growing as an introduced species and a common weed. It is an invasive species in some areas, including many Pacific Islands environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecology of Tasmania</span>

The biodiversity of Tasmania is of exceptional biological and paleoecological interest. A state of Australia, it is a large South Pacific archipelago of one large main island and a range of smaller islands. The terrain includes a variety of reefs, atolls, many small islands, and a variety of topographical and edaphic regions on the largest island, all of which promote the development of unusually concentrated biodiversity. During long periods geographically and genetically isolated, it is known for its unique flora and fauna. The region's climate is oceanic.

<i>Pouzolzia australis</i> Species of flowering plant

Pouzolzia australis, synonyms including Boehmeria australis and Boehmeria calophleba, is a species of large shrub or small tree in the plant family Urticaceae. It is endemic to small islands belonging to Australia and New Zealand – Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island, and the Kermadec Islands. The population on Norfolk island, sometimes treated as a distinct subspecies, is critically endangered. In the Kermadec Islands, it was described in 2018 as "threatened – nationally endangered".

<i>Myoporum obscurum</i> Species of flowering plant

Myoporum obscurum, commonly known as popwood, sandalwood or bastard ironwood is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is a very rare shrub, endemic to Norfolk Island where it occurs in a few scattered locations.

<i>Achyranthes arborescens</i> Species of flowering plant

Achyranthes arborescens is a plant in the Amaranthaceae family endemic to Norfolk Island. It is a critically endangered species under the Australian Federal government's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

References

  1. Coyne, Peter. Norfolk Island's Fascinating Flora. Petaurus Press, 2011, p. 61
  2. "Critically Endangered Norfolk Island Flora Species".
  3. Mills, Kevin. The Vegetation of Phillip Island, Norfolk Island Group. Report for Envirofund 2007-08. 2009