Asteliaceae

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Asteliaceae
Astelia hemichrysa.JPG
Astelia hemichrysa
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asteliaceae
Dumort. [1]
Genera

See text

Asteliaceae is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. [1]

Contents

The family has only recently been recognized by taxonomists. The APG III system of 2009 (unchanged from the 1998 and 2003 versions) does recognize this family. The family includes three genera [2] with about 38 species, [3] occurring in the Southern Hemisphere. It is bird/insect pollinated and its conservation status as of 2017 is not threatened. [4] [ irrelevant citation ]

Description

A large variation in morphology is seen within this family.

Roots

The main cell type of the vascular tissue system present in roots are tracheids. [5] Roots are the only plant organs to have vessel elements and this is seen commonly in Monocots. The habitat of a monocot will determine different xylem characteristics. [6] [5] The habitat of Asteliaceae gives rise to the variation seen in the xylem. [6] [5] These tracheary elements have pores in their walls from fragments of the pit membrane. [5] The vessels that are present within Asteliaceae have very primitive perforation plates. [7]

Rhizomes in Astelia create large intermingled structures that overtake the surrounding environment and vegetation. [7]

Leaves

Leaves in Asteliaceae are long, slender, and alternately arranged. [8] [9]

A rare, unique trait in Asteliaceae is leaf hairs that are silver and white. They are usually present in this family and are distinct with branching so they are easy to notice. [8]

No vessel elements are found in the leaves of this family. The only xylem cell type present is tracheids. [6] [7]

Stems

In comparison to roots, the tracheids present in the stems are less porous and therefore have less pit membranes. [5] Additionally, stems in Asteliaceae do not have vessel elements. [6] [7]

Flowers and reproduction

Flowers in Asteliaceae are typically dioecious but it varies depending on the genus. [8] Milligania and Neoastelia have perfect bisexual flowers while Astelia (including Collospermum) usually have imperfect unisexual flowers. [8] One Astelia species in specific produces both female flowers and imperfect flowers together in the same population. [8]

Inflorescence in this family is always terminal and has a branched cluster of flowers but the variation in this category is wide, particularly with unisexual inflorescences. [9] There is a large, leaf-like sheathing bract that surrounds and encloses the flower cluster. [9] Typically, the distinct hairs on the leaves can also be seen on the inflorescence and flowers. [8]

Asteliaceae has either a sterile pistil or a pistil with a superior ovary, one short or inconspicuous style, and a three lobed stigma. [9] [10] Stamens in Asteliaceae either have dorsifixed or basifixed anthers. [9] [10]

The number of locules in the ovary varies in each genus. Astelia usually has three locules, but it also can have a single locule. Even within the genus Neoastelia, there can be between three and seven locules. [10]

Fruits and seeds

Usually, fruits in Asteliaceae are fleshy, as seen within the genera Astelia and Neoastelia. However, the fruits can also be dry capsules as seen in the genus Milligania. [8]

Seed storage behaviour in Asteliaceae is quite odd as the seed is sensitive to freezing but this behaviour is not always seen. The smallest effect of this behaviour can be seen in the plants found growing in Hawaii. [11]

Taxonomy

The family Asteliaceae was created by Dumortier in 1829. [12] In the APG IV system, the family is placed in the order Asparagales, part of the monocot clade. [13] Within the Asparagales, it is placed in a basal group of families, which diverge after Orchidaceae, and is either sister to Hypoxidaceae [14] or, in a 2021 study, to the clade Lanariaceae plus Hypoxidaceae: [15]

Asparagales

Orchidaceae

remaining Asparagales families

Within the family, studies in 2012 and 2013 grouped Milligania with Astelia. [8] [9] The 2021 study placed Neoastelia and Milligania as sisters: [15]

Asteliaceae

Neoastelia

Milligania

Astelia

Genera

As of December 2021, Plants of the World Online accepts three genera: [2]

The genus Collospermum has been synonymized with Astelia. [16]

Origin and diversity

Due to its prevalence on the eastern Gondwanan landmasses, Australia, New Zealand, and South America, the Asteliaceae family has been classified as a "Austral" floristic element. [8] This idea is supported by the split of Milligania from other astelioid taxa, which is estimated to be 79 million years old, based on age estimations of 102 and 92 million years old for the stem and crown lineages. [8] Long-distance overwater dispersal was likely involved in the spread of Asteliaceae across the Pacific, although little is known about the paths of such dispersal events. [8] Astelia, which originated in New Zealand around 27.1 million years ago, is the largest and oldest genus in the family Asteliaceae. This is of note as the family Asteliaceae originated from Australia which is in proximity to New Zealand. [9]

Distribution

Asteliaceae has a very wide distribution of species that live near large bodies of water. [10] They are found on continents in the southern hemisphere, [8] [9] while they are found in islands as well in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Australia, and New Zealand. [10] 30 of the 38 species in Asteliaceae are found in Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina which all border the South Pacific Ocean. [9] The other 8 species are found to be living on archipelagos scattered around the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean, specifically in Fiji, Hawaii, and New Caledonia. [9] [10] Asteliaceae managed to disperse to both the Western and Eastern Pacific Islands as a result of direct and stepping-stone dispersion paths from New Zealand through Fiji and Hawaii, respectively. [9]

Taxa within Asteliaceae are found in both the Austral and Pacific areas. [9] However, New Zealand has been found to be the centre of genetic diversity, as three of the four genera of Asteliaceae have been found there. [9] Interestingly, species diversity has also been found to be highest in New Zealand. [9] Species within the genus Astelia have been discovered in Australia, New Zealand, South America, the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean, and 7 archipelagos in the Pacific, showing that it is the biggest and most extensively dispersed of the four genera of Asteliaceae. [8]

Species within the genus Astelia are able to live in many different habitats such as coastal and lowland woods, low level swamps, alpine fellfields, and high elevation bogs. [8] Four Astelia species formerly placed in Collospermum grow as epiphytes in lowland forests in New Zealand and in lowland and tropical montane cloud forests in Fiji, Vanuatu, and Samoa. [8] Milligania consists of 5 species that grow only in Tasmania. They grow in a variety of environments including lowland riparian valleys and alpine fellfields. Neoastelia is a genus made of just a single species of terrestrial herbs found only in temperate rainforests in northeastern New South Wales. [8]

Although taxa within Asteliaceae are found across various Gondwanan landmasses, which include Australia, New Zealand, and South America, and the possible Cretaceous beginnings for the family, the Tertiary saw the emergence of new genera. [8] Dispersion across long distances is the most likely hypothesis for the modern distribution for Asteliaceae. [8]

A solitary fossilized pollen grain, perhaps belonging to the Asteliaceae family, has been discovered in Oligocene to Pliocene sediments on West Point Island in the Falkland Islands. This fossil pollen datum, which is classified as either "Astelia-type" or "Monosulcites sp. A.", might suggest the presence of Astelia in South America during the Tertiary period. [8]

Habitat

Different species of Asteliaceae favour different habitats. The range that Asteliaceae covers is extensive but typically an area with a constant supply of moisture will increase growth. [6] Some prefer low habitats where cushion plants commonly grow, which encompasses areas like the subalpine, alpines, and bogs. [10] One thing in common with all the species in this family is that they typically occupy tall and clustered habitats. [10]

Unlike most plants, some species are epiphytic and this could be the main way the plant grows. Many species from the genus Astelia favour terrestrial and rock as a substrate to grow upon. If the epiphytic plant is detached from its source, it will find other ways to get moisture and nutrients. [10] For example, if the plant fell on the ground, it would not be affected and would continue growing for a long duration of time. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asparagales</span> Order of monocot flowering plants

Asparagales is an order of plants in modern classification systems such as the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Web. The order takes its name from the type family Asparagaceae and is placed in the monocots amongst the lilioid monocots. The order has only recently been recognized in classification systems. It was first put forward by Huber in 1977 and later taken up in the Dahlgren system of 1985 and then the APG in 1998, 2003 and 2009. Before this, many of its families were assigned to the old order Liliales, a very large order containing almost all monocots with colorful tepals and lacking starch in their endosperm. DNA sequence analysis indicated that many of the taxa previously included in Liliales should actually be redistributed over three orders, Liliales, Asparagales, and Dioscoreales. The boundaries of the Asparagales and of its families have undergone a series of changes in recent years; future research may lead to further changes and ultimately greater stability. In the APG circumscription, Asparagales is the largest order of monocots with 14 families, 1,122 genera, and about 36,000 species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alismatales</span> Order of herbaceous flowering plants of marshy and aquatic habitats

The Alismatales (alismatids) are an order of flowering plants including about 4,500 species. Plants assigned to this order are mostly tropical or aquatic. Some grow in fresh water, some in marine habitats. Perhaps the most important food crop in the order is the taro plant, Colocasia esculenta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Restionaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Restionaceae, also called restiads and restios, are a family of flowering plants native to the Southern Hemisphere; they vary from a few centimeters to 3 meters in height. Following the APG IV (2016): the family now includes the former families Anarthriaceae, Centrolepidaceae and Lyginiaceae, and as such includes 51 genera with 572 known species. Based on evidence from fossil pollen, the Restionaceae likely originated more than 65 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period, when the southern continents were still part of Gondwana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alstroemeriaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Alstroemeriaceae is a family of flowering plants, with 254 known species in four genera, almost entirely native to the Americas, from Central America to southern South America. One species of Luzuriaga occurs in New Zealand, and the genus Drymophila is endemic to south-eastern Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asphodeloideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants, in monocot family Asphodelaceae

Asphodeloideae is a subfamily of the monocot family Asphodelaceae in the order Asparagales. It has previously been treated as a separate family, Asphodelaceae sensu stricto. The family Asphodelaceae has now been proposed to be a nomen conservandum, and the proposal has been recommended for ratification in 2017. In that case, Asphodelaceae will have priority over Xanthorrhoeaceae. This is reflected in the APG IV family lists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemerocallidoideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

Hemerocallidoideae is a subfamily of flowering plants, part of the family Asphodelaceae sensu lato in the monocot order Asparagales according to the APG system of 2016. Earlier classification systems treated the group as a separate family, the Hemerocallidaceae. The name is derived from the generic name of the type genus, Hemerocallis. The largest genera in the group are Dianella, Hemerocallis (15), and Caesia (11).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scilloideae</span> Subfamily of bulbous monocot plants

Scilloideae is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family Asparagaceae. Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate family Hyacinthaceae, named after the genus Hyacinthus. Scilloideae or Hyacinthaceae include many familiar garden plants such as Hyacinthus (hyacinths), Hyacinthoides (bluebells), Muscari and Scilla and Puschkinia. Some are important as cut flowers.

<i>Xeronema</i> Genus of flowering plants

Xeronema is a genus of flowering plants containing two species, Xeronema moorei from New Caledonia, and Xeronema callistemon from the Poor Knights Islands and Taranga Island in New Zealand. The plants are herbaceous monocots, spreading by rhizomes, and have large flowers set on terminal spikes, with stamens towering above the flowers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asphodelaceae</span> Family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales

Asphodelaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, but the circumscription has varied widely. In its current circumscription in the APG IV system, it includes about 40 genera and 900 known species. The type genus is Asphodelus.

<i>Griselinia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Griselinia is a genus of seven species of shrubs and trees, with a highly disjunct distribution native to New Zealand and South America. It is a classic example of the Antarctic flora. It is the sole genus in the family Griseliniaceae. In the past it was often placed in Cornaceae but differs from that in many features.

<i>Pentaphragma</i> Genus of flowering plants

Pentaphragma is a genus of flowering plants. Pentaphragma is the sole genus in Pentaphragmataceae, a family in the order Asterales. These species are fleshy herbs, with asymmetrical leaf blades. They are found in Southeast Asia. Pentaphragma is rayless, but eventually develops rays in at least one of the species studied. This is interpreted as related to secondary woodiness or upright habit within a predominantly herbaceous phylad. The vessel elements of Pentaphragma have features universally interpreted as primitive in dicotyledons: scalariform perforation plates with numerous bars; pit membrane remnants in perforations; scalariform lateral wall pitting; the genus also has fiber-tracheids with prominently bordered pits. The presence of occasional scalariform perforation plates, often aberrant, in secondary xylem of families of Asterales sensu lato - Campanulaceae, Pentaphragmataceae, Valerianaceae, and even Asteraceae - can be attributed to paedomorphosis, extending these plates into secondary xylem from primary xylem. Raylessness in Pentaphragma can be described in terms of secondary woodiness or paedomorphosis. The fact that fiber-tracheids are shorter than vessel elements in Pentaphragma is believed related to raylessness also, because some fiber-tracheids are produced from 'potential' ray areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trochodendraceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Trochodendraceae is the only family of flowering plants in the order Trochodendrales. It comprises two extant genera, each with a single species along with up to five additional extinct genera and a number of extinct species. The living species are native to south east Asia. The two living species both have secondary xylem without vessel elements, which is quite rare in angiosperms. As the vessel-free wood suggests primitiveness, these two species have attracted much taxonomic attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chloranthaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Chloranthaceae is a family of flowering plants (angiosperms), the only family in the order Chloranthales. It is not closely related to any other family of flowering plants, and is among the early-diverging lineages in the angiosperms. They are woody or weakly woody plants occurring in Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Madagascar, Central and South America, and the West Indies. The family consists of four extant genera, totalling about 77 known species according to Christenhusz and Byng in 2016. Some species are used in traditional medicine. The type genus is Chloranthus. The fossil record of the family, mostly represented by pollen such as Clavatipollenites, extends back to the dawn of the history of flowering plants in the Early Cretaceous, and has been found on all continents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dasypogonaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Dasypogonaceae is a family of flowering plants based on the type genus Dasypogon, one that has traditionally not been commonly recognized by taxonomists; the plants it contains were usually included in the family Xanthorrhoeaceae. If valid, Dasypogonaceae includes four genera with 16 species. The family is endemic to Australia. The best known representative is Kingia australis.

<i>Blandfordia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Blandfordia, commonly known as Christmas bells, is a genus of four species of flowering plants native to eastern Australia. Christmas bells are tufted, perennial herbs with narrow, linear leaves and up to twenty large, drooping, cylindrical or bell-shaped flowers.

<i>Astelia</i> Genus of plants

Astelia is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans, as well as to Australia and to the southernmost tip of South America. A significant number of the known species are endemic to New Zealand. The species generally grow in forests, swamps and amongst low alpine vegetation; occasionally they are epiphytic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilioid monocots</span> Grade of flowering plant orders, within Lilianae

Lilioid monocots is an informal name used for a grade of five monocot orders in which the majority of species have flowers with relatively large, coloured tepals. This characteristic is similar to that found in lilies ("lily-like"). Petaloid monocots refers to the flowers having tepals which all resemble petals (petaloid). The taxonomic terms Lilianae or Liliiflorae have also been applied to this assemblage at various times. From the early nineteenth century many of the species in this group of plants were put into a very broadly defined family, Liliaceae sensu lato or s.l.. These classification systems are still found in many books and other sources. Within the monocots the Liliaceae s.l. were distinguished from the Glumaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amaryllidoideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

Amaryllidoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, order Asparagales. The most recent APG classification, APG III, takes a broad view of the Amaryllidaceae, which then has three subfamilies, one of which is Amaryllidoideae, and the others are Allioideae and Agapanthoideae. The subfamily consists of about seventy genera, with over eight hundred species, and a worldwide distribution.

<i>Milligania</i> Genus of plants

Milligania is a genus of native perennial plants containing five species which are all found in Tasmania:

The Asparagales are an order of plants, and on this page the structure of the order is used according to the APG III system. The order takes its name from the family Asparagaceae and is placed in the monocots. The order is clearly circumscribed on the basis of DNA sequence analysis, but is difficult to define morphologically, since its members are structurally diverse. The APG III system is used in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families from the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. With this circumscription, the order consists of 14 families with approximately 1120 genera and 26000 species.

References

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