Amyema congener

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Amyema congener
Amyema congener2.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Loranthaceae
Genus: Amyema
Species:
A. congener
Binomial name
Amyema congener
(Sieber ex Schult. & Schult.f.) Tiegh.
AmyemacongenerDistribution.png
Collections data for A. congener from the Australasian Virtual Herbarium

Amyema congener, commonly known as the variable mistletoe, is a species of flowering plant, an epiphytic hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae from eastern Australia. It is found on members of the genera Allocasuarina , Acacia and some exotic species.

Franz Sieber first described this species as Loranthus congener in 1829, [1] before Philippe Édouard Léon Van Tieghem gave it its current binomial name in 1894. [2]

It grows as shrubby plant, with either an erect or pendant (drooping) habit, from a tree branch or trunk. [3] It is attached to the host tree by a globular woody base. [4] The stems and foliage are smooth. The thick leathery leaves are spear-shaped (lanceolate) to oval or obovate and measure 4–11 cm (1.5–4.5 in) in length and 1–5.5 cm (0.39–2.17 in) across. Flowers can be seen at any time of year. [3] The 0.8 cm (0.31 in) diameter round fruit ripen over the summer (December to February), and the single seed within is contained in a sticky membrane. [4]

The principal host plant of the variable mistletoe is the black sheoak ( Allocasuarina littoralis ) also forest oak ( A. torulosa ), gossamer wattle ( Acacia floribunda ), white feather honeymyrtle ( Melaleuca decora ), prickly-leaved tea tree ( M. styphelioides ), prickly-leaved paperbark ( M. nodosa ), snow-in-summer ( M. linariifolia ), green native cascarilla ( Croton verreauxii ), red olive plum ( Elaeodendron australe ), as well as introduced trees such as peach and plum trees, pear trees, and oleander ( Nerium oleander ). It is only occasionally on gum trees such as Eucalyptus obtusifolia and smooth-barked apple Angophora costata . [4]

The mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) eats the fruit. [4]

Scale insect species such as Ceroplastes cerciferus , C. rubens , and Aspidiotus aurantii can attack the plant. [4]

The seed immediately begins to germinate and soon penetrates the vascular system of the tree and creates a physiological connection with the xylem of the new host. From that point, the seedling begins to obtain water and mineral nutrients from the host. [5]

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<i>Amyema quandang</i> Species of plant

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<i>Allocasuarina inophloia</i> Species of tree

Allocasuarina inophloia, also known as woolly oak, or stringybark she-oak, is a shrub or small tree of the she-oak family Casuarinaceae endemic to inland New South Wales and Queensland. The hairy bark is an unusual feature.

<i>Amyema benthamii</i> Species of epiphyte

Amyema benthamii, commonly known as the twin-leaved mistletoe or Bentham's mistletoe, is a species of flowering plant, an epiphytic hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae native to Western Australia and the Northern Territory of Australia in semi-arid woodland. This species is named in honour of the English botanist George Bentham who between 1863 and 1878 published Flora Australiensis, the first flora of Australia.

<i>Lysiana exocarpi</i> Species of mistletoe

Lysiana exocarpi, commonly known as harlequin mistletoe, is a species of hemiparasitic shrub, endemic to Australia. It is in the Gondwanan family Loranthaceae and is probably the most derived genus of that family with 12 pairs of chromosomes. The Loranthaceae is the most diverse family in the mistletoe group with over 900 species worldwide and including the best known species in Australia. Mistletoes are notable for their relationships with other species. In an early reference to the group in Australia Allan Cunningham explorer and first Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, wrote in 1817: "The Bastard Box is frequently much encumbered with the twining adhering Loranthus aurantiacus which 'Scorning the soil, aloft she springs, Shakes her red plumes and claps her golden wings'."

<i>Muellerina eucalyptoides</i> Species of plant

Muellerina eucalyptoides, or creeping mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic arial shrub in the family Loranthaceae. The species is endemic to Australia. M. eucalyptoides is pendulous in habit, unlike other Muellerina species, but has the long epicortical runners of all Muellerina species.

<i>Amyema bifurcata</i> Species of epiphyte

Amyema bifurcata is an epiphytic, flowering, hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae native to Australia and found in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales.

<i>Amyema fitzgeraldii</i> Species of plant

Amyema fitzgeraldii, the pincushion mistletoe, is a species of flowering plant within the genus Amyema, an epiphytic hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae endemic to Australia, and found in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.

<i>Amyema biniflora</i> Species of epiphyte

Amyema biniflora, the twin-flower mistletoe, is a species of flowering plant within the genus Amyema, an epiphytic hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae endemic to Queensland, Australia.

<i>Amyema melaleucae</i> Species of plant

Amyema melaleucae, also known as the tea-tree mistletoe, is a species of flowering plant within the genus Amyema, an epiphytic hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae native to Australia and found in Western Australia and South Australia on the coast, from north of Perth almost to the Victorian border.

<i>Amyema cambagei</i> Species of epiphyte

Amyema cambagei, commonly known as sheoak mistletoe, is a species of flowering plant, an epiphytic hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae endemic to Australia, and found in New South Wales and Queensland in sclerophyll forest and woodland on several species of Casuarinaceae.

<i>Acacia ulicifolia</i> Species of legume

Acacia ulicifolia, commonly known as prickly Moses or juniper wattle is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae, native to Australia.

Amyema pliculata is a species of hemi-parasitic shrub found in the Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, New South Wales and Queensland.

References

  1. "Loranthus congener". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  2. "Amyema congener". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  3. 1 2 A. L. Quirico. "New South Wales Flora Online: Amyema congener". Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Benson, Doug; McDougall, Lyn (1997). "Ecology of Sydney plant species:Part 5: Dicotyledon families Flacourtiaceae to Myrsinaceae" (PDF). Cunninghamia. 5 (2): 330–544.
  5. Barlow, Bryan (21 August 2008). "What is a mistletoe ?". Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Australian National Botanic Gardens, Australian Government. Retrieved 9 November 2011.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)