Bejaria racemosa

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Bejaria racemosa
Tarflower (Bejaria racemosa) (6929161261).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Bejaria
Species:
B. racemosa
Binomial name
Bejaria racemosa

Bejaria racemosa, commonly known as tarflower, is a woody shrub with a fragrant flower found in the southeastern US states of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. It grows on flatlands in groups. Insects become trapped on its flowers due to the sticky secretions found there. [1]

Contents

Description

Tarflower is an evergreen shrub growing up to 2.5m tall. [2] Its few erect branches support powdery-pubescent stems with simple, alternate, sessile leaves. [2] Leaves are elliptic to ovate in shape and 2–6 cm long and 2 cm wide. Their margin is entire, the leaf tip is rounded to acute, and the leaf base is cuneate. The adaxial (upper) leaf surface is covered in powdery pubescence, while the abaxial (bottom) surface is whitish in color with long hairs along the midrib.

The flowers of Bejaria racemosa are fragrant and sticky with seven distinctly separated petals, white to pinkish in color and 2–3 cm long. Flowers are bisexual, having rust-colored anthers and a persistent pistil on the capsule as it develops and matures.1 The glandular inner surface of the calyx produces copious nectar, giving the flowers and fruits a sticky texture. [2] The fruit is a capsule 6-8mm in diameter.

Etymology

The common name 'tarflower' and 'fly-catcher' refer to the sticky flowers and fruits, upon which insects are trapped.

The genus Bejaria is named in honor of a professor of Botany from Cadiz, José Bejar. [2] The name was given by a botanist named Mutis, who sent the first described specimen of the genus from Colombia to Linnaeus in 1761. [3]

The species epithet 'racemosa' refers to the elongated raceme inflorescence of the species, which differentiates it from other species in the genus. [2] Raceme comes from the latin 'racemosus' meaning full of clusters or clustering. [4]

Habitat and Ecology

The Tarflower inhabits scrub ecosystems, mesic flatwoods, and coastal pinelands. [5] Scrub ecosystems are characterized by well-drained, nutrient poor sandy soils. The plants inhabiting this ecosystem are adapted to survive in the harsh conditions created by exposure to the sun and rapid draining of water and nutrients into the sandy soil. It has been suggested that B. racemosa acts as a facultative insectivore by trapping and killing insects in its sticky resin, later benefiting from a supplementation of nitrogenous decay products. [6]

Bees and flies are attracted to the blooms, and often become entrapped in the sticky resin. Native bee visitors documented include sweat, resin, leaf cutter, and bumblebees. [7] Bee species were documented at Archbold Biological Station, these include: Agapostemon splendens, Augochlorella aurata, A. gratiosa, Augochloropsis sumptuosa, Anthidiellum perplexum, Anthidium maculifrons, Megachile brevis pseudobrevis, M. mendica, M. petulans, Bombus impatiens and B. pennsylvanicus . [8]

B. racemosa is also a host plant for Southern Emerald moth. Larvae feeding on tarflowers were found to resemble in color the rust-colored anthers and stems, while those that fed on other host plants exhibited different coloration. [9] The same study found that Southern Emerald moth larvae developed at a slower rate on B. racemosa compared with other host plants, perhaps as a consequence of the sticky resin produced by the flowers. [9]

Distribution

The range of Bejaria racemosa spans from the southern Florida counties of Dade, Lee, and Highlands north to Camden, Worth, and Glynn counties in Georgia. [2]

Taxonomy

B. racemosa was first described in 1800 by Ventenat and collected by Michaux. [3]

Cultivation & Culture

B. racemosa is used in Florida native landscaping. It is valued for its drought tolerance and fragrant showy flowers in the spring/summer. It can be propagated by seed or cutting. [7] It can be grown in areas with full sun to part shade and prefers sandy, well drained soils. However, Tarflower does not tolerate salty wind or direct salt spray. [7]

The Florida Native Plant Society's Orange county chapter is named after the Tarflower. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Roridula</i> Insect-trapping shrublet from South Africa

Roridula is a genus of evergreen, insect-trapping shrubs, with two species, of about 1⅓–2 m. It is the only genus in the family Roridulaceae. It has thin, woody, shyly branching, upright, initially brown, later grey stems, with lance- to awl-shaped leaves crowded at their tips. The star-symmetrical flowers consist from the outside in of five, green or reddish, free sepals, alternating with five white, pink or purple, free petals. Further to the middle and opposite the sepals are five stamens with the anthers initially kinked down. These suddenly flip up if the nectar-containing swelling at its base is being touched. The center of the flower is occupied by a superior ovary. The leaves and sepals carry many sticky tentacles of different sizes, that trap insects. Roridula does not break down the insect proteins, but bugs of the genus Pameridea prey on the trapped insects. These later deposit their feces on the leaves, which take up nutrients from the droppings. The species can be found in the Western Cape province of South Africa. They are commonly known as dewstick or fly bush in English and vlieëbos or vlieëbossie in Afrikaans.

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Pterophylla racemosa, known as the kāmahi, is an evergreen tree native to New Zealand. It is part of the Pterophylla genus which mostly includes sub-tropical species, but the kāmahi is found in a variety of New Zealand climates from coastal areas to high-elevation inland areas.

<i>Sambucus racemosa</i> Species of plant

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<i>Ximenia americana</i> Species of tree

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<i>Dicerandra christmanii</i> Species of flowering plant

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References

  1. Florida Forest Plants Archived September 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Proenza, Andreu, Lynn, Michael. "Common Woody Plants of Florida Scrub Ecosystems".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 Fedtschenko, B.; Basilevskaja, N. (May 1928). "Revision of the Genus Bejaria Mutis". Botanical Gazette. 85 (3): 299–322. doi:10.1086/333843. ISSN   0006-8071. S2CID   84316280.
  4. "Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, răcēmōsus". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  5. Nelson, Gil (2011). Botanical Keys to Florida's Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines. Pineapple Press Inc. ISBN   978-1-56164-499-5.
  6. Eisner, Thomas; Aneshansley, Daniel J. (1983-03-15). "Adhesive Strength of the Insect-Trapping Glue of a Plant (Befaria racemosa)". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 76 (2): 295–298. doi:10.1093/aesa/76.2.295. ISSN   0013-8746.
  7. 1 2 3 "Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS)". www.fnps.org. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  8. Deyrup, Mark; Trager, James (March 1986). "Ants of the Archbold Biological Station, Highlands County, Florida (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". The Florida Entomologist. 69 (1): 206. doi:10.2307/3494763. ISSN   0015-4040. JSTOR   3494763.
  9. 1 2 CANFIELD, MICHAEL R.; CHANG, SUE; PIERCE, NAOMI E. (June 2009). "The double cloak of invisibility: phenotypic plasticity and larval decoration in a geometrid moth,Synchlora frondaria, across three diet treatments". Ecological Entomology. 34 (3): 412–414. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2311.2009.01089.x . ISSN   0307-6946.
  10. "Tarflower Chapter". tarflower.fnpschapters.org. Retrieved 2023-07-09.