Amyema miraculosa

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Amyema miraculosa
Plant close up.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Loranthaceae
Genus: Amyema
Species:
A. miraculosa
Binomial name
Amyema miraculosa
(Lehm. ex Miq.) Tiegh. [1]
ALA records map.jpg
Distribution of A. miraculosa from the Atas of Living Australia
Synonyms
  • Amyema miraculosum

Amyema miraculosa, also known as the fleshy mistletoe and the round-leaf mistletoe, is an Australian native mistletoe found in all states except Tasmania. It is a woody, hemiparasitic plant, in the Loranthaceae family. Being hemiparasitic, it draws water and minerals from its host, however it photosynthesises to manufacture its own supply of carbohydrates. [2]

Contents

The plant has thick, fleshy leaves with rounded tips. It has dark red flowers which are carried in groups of three and the fruit is a narrow shaped yellow berry. It forms dense, upright clumps and is often found parasitising other parasitic plants, making it an epiparasite. It has been recorded utilising a total of 41 different species as hosts, [3] however its preferred hosts are from the Santalum family and other Loranthaceae species. [4]

There are two subspecies within Australia. A. miraculosa subsp. boormanii which is predominantly in the eastern half of the continent while A. miraculosa subsp. miraculosa is present mainly in Western Australia. [5] [ failed verification ]

Ecology and animal interactions

With its tubular red flowers, the pollination of A. miraculosa is predominantly via birds. Once the fruit has set, it is then dispersed by a different suite of birds of which the main species is the mistletoe bird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum). The seed passes quickly through the gut of the bird and if it is deposited on a branch of a suitable species, the seed will grow into a new plant. A. miraculosa is also a host plant for butterflies and their caterpillars [6]

Taxonomy

Fleshy mistletoe was first described in 1845 by Dutch botanist Freidrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel as Loranthus miraculosus and was transferred to Amyema by French botanist Phillipe Édouard Léon Van Teighem in 1895. [7]

Related Research Articles

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

Amyema miquelii, also known as box mistletoe, is a species of flowering plant, an epiphytic hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae, found attached to several species of Australian eucalypt and occasionally on some species of Acacia. It is the most widespread of the Australian Mistletoes, occurring mainly to the west of the Great Dividing Range. It has shiny leaves and red flowers arranged in groups of 3. It is distinguished from the similar Amyema pendula through the individual stalks of the flowers.

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

Amyema quandang is a species of hemi-parasitic shrub which is widespread throughout the mainland of Australia, especially arid inland regions, sometimes referred to as the grey mistletoe.

<i>Dendrophthoe vitellina</i> Species of mistletoe

Dendrophthoe vitellina, commonly known as long-flowered- or apostle mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic plant of the mistletoe family Loranthaceae. The genus Dendrophthoe comprises about 31 species spread across tropical Africa, Asia, and Australia. Despite being collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander in 1788, and depicted in Banks' Florilegium, it was not until 1860 that it was described by Ferdinand von Mueller as Loranthus vitellinus after being collected near Ipswich, and renamed by Philippe Édouard Léon Van Tieghem in 1895.

<i>Amyema congener</i> Species of mistletoe

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.

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

Amyema preissii, commonly known as wireleaf mistletoe, is a species of mistletoe, an epiphytic, hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae. It is native to Australia where it has been recorded from all mainland states. The flowers are red and up to 26 mm long. The fruits are white or pink, globose and 8–10 mm in diameter. Its habitat is sclerophyll forest and woodland where it is often found on wattles. On Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula its hosts include coast wirilda, golden wattle and drooping sheoak. Its sticky seeds are eaten and dispersed by mistletoebirds.

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

Amyema pendula, also known as drooping mistletoe or furry drooping mistletoe, is a species of flowering plant, an epiphytic hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae, found attached to several species of Australian eucalypt and occasionally on some species of Acacia. It is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is the most common mistletoe in Victoria, especially on the coastal side of the Great Dividing Range. It has shiny leaves and red flowers arranged in groups of 3 or 4. It is distinguished from the similar Amyema miquelii through the lack of individual stalks on the flowers.

<i>Capparis lasiantha</i> Species of plant in the family Capparaceae endemic to Australia

Capparis lasiantha is an endemic Australian plant with a range that extends from the Kimberley region through the Northern Territory and Queensland to northern New South Wales, primarily in drier inland areas although the species extends to the coast in Central Queensland. Common names are numerous and include wyjeelah, nepine, split jack, nipang creeper, nipan, native orange and bush caper.

<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>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 mackayensis</i> Species of epiphyte

Amyema mackayensis, the mangrove mistletoe, is a species of flowering plant within the genus Amyema, an epiphytic hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae native to Australia, and found along its northern and eastern coasts in New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia, and also in New Guinea.

<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 sanguinea</i> Species of mistletoe

Amyema sanguinea is an aerial hemiparasitic shrub within the genus Amyema, in the family Loranthaceae and native to Australia, where it is found in New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western 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>Muellerina bidwillii</i> Species of mistletoe

Muellerina bidwillii, common name Cypress-pine mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic aerial shrub in the family Loranthaceae. The species is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland.

<i>Muellerina myrtifolia</i> Species of mistletoe

Muellerina myrtifolia, common name myrtle-leaved mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic aerial shrub in the family Loranthaceae. The species is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland.

<i>Muellerina celastroides</i> Species of mistletoe

Muellerina celastroides, common names Banksia mistletoe and coast mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic aerial shrub in the family Loranthaceae. The species is endemic to New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

<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.

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

References

  1. "Amyema miraculosa". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  2. Watson, D. (2019). Mistletoes of Southern Australia (2nd ed.). CSIRO Publishing. ISBN   9780643095939 . Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  3. Downey, P.O. (1998). "An inventory of host species for each aerial mistletoe species (Loranthaceae and Viscaceae) in Australia". Cunninghamia. 5 (3).
  4. VicFlora. "Amyema miraculosa". VicFlora. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  5. Barlow, B.A. (1966). "A revision of Loranthaceae of Australia and New Zealand". Australian Journal of Botany. 14 (3): 421–499. doi:10.1071/BT9660421.
  6. Fagg, Murray. "Butterflies and their food plants". ANBG. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  7. Australian Plant Name Index. "Vascular plants". Australian plant name index. Retrieved 5 June 2021.