Bellendena

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Bellendena
Bellendena montana - Walls of Jerusalem.jpg
Above: habit
Below: detail of inflorescences
Bellendena montana.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Subfamily: Bellendenoideae
P.H.Weston
Genus: Bellendena
R.Br. [1]
Species:
B. montana
Binomial name
Bellendena montana
Distribution of Bellendena montana.svg

Bellendena montana, commonly known as mountain rocket, is a species of low-growing multi-stemmed shrub in the plant family Proteaceae. It is endemic to high-altitude subalpine and alpine regions in Tasmania, Australia. The prominent white flower spikes appear over summer, followed by small bright red or yellow fruit in late summer and autumn.

Contents

Described by Robert Brown in 1810, it is the sole member of the genus Bellendena, which is in turn the sole member of subfamily Bellendenoideae, and is thought to represent an early offshoot within the family. [3]

Taxonomy

Scottish botanist Robert Brown described the mountain rocket in 1810 as Bellendena montana, [4] naming the genus in honour of John Bellenden Ker Gawler for his botanical works. The species name is the Latin adjective montanus and refers to its montane habitat. [5] Its common name refers to its red-tipped rocket-shaped flowerheads. [5]

Phylogenetic studies often place this genus as basal (one of the earliest offshoots) to the rest of the Proteaceae, though its exact position and relationships are unclear. A 2006 analysis, synthesizing molecular and other studies, by Weston and Barker [3] located it as sister to the subfamily Persoonioideae, the two sharing a common ancestor which diverged from the other Proteaceae. However, the genus has an anatomical feature, laterocytic stomata (having 3 or more parallel specialised subsidiary cells), which it shares with the Platanaceae (next closest relatives to the Proteaceae) and no other Proteaceae, which indicate it diverged from all other members of the family first. [3]

Description

Bellendena montana grows as a low, spreading multistemmed shrub to anywhere from 10 cm to 1.8 m high, [4] and 1 m in diameter. The leaves are thick and variable, [5] ranging from oblanceolate to spathulate to wedge-shaped (cuneate) in shape with recurved margins and measuring 1–6 cm long and 0.2 to 2.2 cm wide. Plants from north-eastern Tasmania have narrower leaves than elsewhere, and populations from higher altitudes have smaller leaves and more crowded foliage. [4] The flowers occur in terminal racemes which are held on short stems above the foliage. [5] These are followed by small egg-shaped (obovate) bright red or yellow fruit, which are ripe in late summer and autumn. [6]

Distribution and habitat

Bellendena montana is found at altitudes above 1000 m (3500 ft), though rarely lower to 400 m. [4] It grows on low-nutrient soils (mostly dolerite, but sometimes quartzite or basalt-derived [4] ) with good drainage, often rocky outcrops, [6] as well as more boggy areas and alpine heathland. [4]

Cultivation

The plant has attractive flowers, fruit and foliage, but is not often cultivated because it is difficult to grow at low altitudes. Propagation by seed or cutting is unreliable. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Xylomelum</i> Genus of plants in the family Proteaceae native to Australia

Xylomelum is a genus of six species of flowering plants, often commonly known as woody pears, in the family Proteaceae and are endemic to Australia. Plants in this genus are tall shrubs or small trees with leaves arranged in opposite pairs, relatively small flowers arranged in spike-like groups, and the fruit a woody, more or less pear-shaped follicle.

Persoonia micranthera, commonly known as the small-flowered snottygobble, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a restricted area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low-lying to prostrate shrub with branchlets that are hairy when young, spatula-shaped to lance-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, hairy yellow flowers borne in groups of four to fifteen, and smooth, oval fruit.

<i>Athertonia</i> Monotypic genus of trees in the family Proteaceae

Athertonia is a monotypic genus of plants in the family Proteaceae. The sole described species is Athertonia diversifolia, commonly known as Atherton oak, athertonia, creamy silky oak or white oak. It is endemic to a small part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland, Australia. A relative of the macadamia, it has potential in horticulture and the bushfood industry.

<i>Banksia spinulosa <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> cunninghamii</i> Variety of shrub in the family Proteaceae from the east coast of Australia

Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii, sometimes given species rank as Banksia cunninghamii, is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Victoria and New South Wales. It is a fast-growing non-lignotuberous shrub or small tree infrequently cultivated.

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

Eustrephus is a monotypic genus in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Lomandroideae. The sole species is Eustrephus latifolius, commonly known as wombat berry. It is an evergreen vine native to Malesia, the Pacific Islands and eastern Australia. It grows in sclerophyll forest, woodland, heathlands, shrublands, gallery forest and rainforests.

<i>Alloxylon pinnatum</i> Tree of the family Proteaceae found in south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales

Alloxylon pinnatum, known as Dorrigo waratah, is a tree of the family Proteaceae found in warm-temperate rainforest of south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales in eastern Australia. It has shiny green leaves that are either pinnate (lobed) and up to 30 cm (12 in) long, or lanceolate (spear-shaped) and up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long. The prominent pinkish-red flower heads, known as inflorescences, appear in spring and summer; these are made up of 50 to 140 individual flowers arranged in corymb or raceme. These are followed by rectangular woody seed pods, which bear two rows of winged seeds.

<i>Persoonia levis</i> Shrub in the family Proteaceae native to New South Wales and Victoria in eastern Australia

Persoonia levis, commonly known as the broad-leaved geebung, is a shrub native to New South Wales and Victoria in eastern Australia. It reaches 5 m (16 ft) in height and has dark grey papery bark and bright green asymmetrical sickle-shaped leaves up to 14 cm (5.5 in) long and 8 cm (3.2 in) wide. The small yellow flowers appear in summer and autumn, followed by small green fleshy fruit, which are classified as drupes. Within the genus Persoonia, it is a member of the Lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. P. levis interbreeds with several other species where they grow together.

<i>Persoonia linearis</i> Shrub in the family Proteaceae native to New South Wales and Victoria in eastern Australia

Persoonia linearis, commonly known as the narrow-leaved geebung, is a shrub native to New South Wales and Victoria in eastern Australia. It reaches 3 m (9.8 ft), or occasionally 5 m (16 ft), in height and has thick, dark grey papery bark. The leaves are, as the species name suggests, more or less linear in shape, and are up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long, and 0.1 to 0.7 cm wide. The small yellow flowers appear in summer, autumn and early winter, followed by small green fleshy fruit known as drupes. Within the genus Persoonia, it is a member of the Lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. P. linearis interbreeds with several other species where they grow together.

<i>Persoonia lanceolata</i> Shrub in the family Proteaceae native to New South Wales in eastern Australia

Persoonia lanceolata, commonly known as lance-leaf geebung, is a shrub native to New South Wales in eastern Australia. It reaches 3 m (10 ft) in height and has smooth grey bark and bright green foliage. Its small yellow flowers grow on racemes and appear in the austral summer and autumn, followed by green fleshy fruits which ripen the following spring. Within the genus Persoonia, P. lanceolata belongs to the lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. It interbreeds with several other species found in its range.

<i>Persoonia rigida</i> Species of flowering plant

Persoonia rigida, commonly known as the rigid-, hairy- or stiff geebung, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is an erect to low-lying shrub with hairy young branchlets, lance-shaped to spatula-shaped leaves that are hairy when young, and yellow flowers borne in groups of up to twenty on a rachis up to 90 mm (3.5 in) long that continues to grow after flowering.

<i>Persoonia juniperina</i> Species of flowering plant

Persoonia juniperina, commonly known as prickly geebung, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a small erect to low-lying shrub with smooth bark, hairy new branches, linear leaves, yellow flowers borne singly or in groups of up to forty in leaf axils, and yellowish green to purplish fruit.

<i>Persoonia chamaepitys</i> Species of flowering plant

Persoonia chamaepitys, commonly known as the prostrate- or mountain geebung, is a shrub endemic to New South Wales in eastern Australia. It has a prostrate habit, reaching only 20 cm (7.9 in) high but spreading up to 2 m (6.6 ft) across, with bright green spine-like leaves and small yellow flowers appearing in summer and autumn.

<i>Persoonia glaucescens</i> Species of flowering plant

Persoonia glaucescens, commonly known as the Mittagong geebung, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with smooth bark, hairy young branchlets, lance-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and yellow flowers. It is the only persoonia in eastern Australia with strongly glaucous leaves.

<i>Persoonia muelleri</i> Species of shrub

Persoonia muelleri, commonly known as Mueller’s geebung, is a shrub endemic to Tasmania. It forms a shrub in open areas of wet forests in the west and northeast of the state. It is occasionally confused with P. gunnii though it has larger flowers and longer, straighter leaves.

<i>Persoonia falcata</i> Species of shrub

Persoonia falcata, commonly known as the wild pear, is a shrub native to northern Australia.

<i>Agastachys</i> Monotypic genus of flowering shrub in the family Proteaceae

Agastachys odorata, commonly known as the white waratah or fragrant candlebush, is the sole member of the genus Agastachys in the protea family. It is an evergreen shrub to small tree and is endemic to the heaths and buttongrass sedgelands of western Tasmania.

<i>Cenarrhenes</i> Monotypic genus of plants in the family Proteaceae

Cenarrhenes is a monytypic genus in the family Proteaceae containing the single species Cenarrhenes nitida, known as the Port Arthur plum or native plum. Cenarrhenes nitida is an evergreen shrub to small tree endemic to the rainforests and scrublands of western Tasmania. It bears white flowers in late spring followed by the development of fleshy fruit.

<i>Nothorites</i> Monotypic genus of plants in the family Proteaceae

Nothorites is a monotypic genus in the macadamia family Proteaceae. The sole species, Nothorites megacarpus, is endemic to the wet tropics rain forests of northeastern Queensland, Australia.

<i>Lasjia</i> Genus of trees of the family Proteaceae

Lasjia is a genus of six species of trees of the family Proteaceae. Three species grow naturally in northeastern Queensland, Australia and three species in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Descriptively they are the tropical or northern macadamia trees group. Lasjia species characteristically branched compound inflorescences differentiate them from the Macadamia species, of Australia, which have characteristically unbranched compound inflorescences and only grow naturally about 1,000 km (620 mi) further to the south, in southern and central eastern Queensland and in northeastern New South Wales.

<i>Persoonia graminea</i> Species of flowering plant

Persoonia graminea is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect to weak, low-lying shrub with long, linear leaves and flowers in groups of ten to twenty-five on a rachis up to 220 mm (8.7 in) long.

References

  1. "Bellendena R.Br". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  2. "Bellendena montana R.Br". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  3. 1 2 3 Weston, Peter H.; Barker, Nigel P. (2006). "A new suprageneric classification of the Proteaceae, with an annotated checklist of genera". Telopea. 11 (3): 314–344. doi: 10.7751/telopea20065733 .
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bellendena montana R.Br". Flora of Australia Online. Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Wrigley, John; Fagg, Murray (1991). Banksias, Waratahs and Grevilleas. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. pp. 543–45. ISBN   0-207-17277-3.
  6. 1 2 Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment. "Bellendena montana" (PDF). Flora of Tasmania. Tasmanian Government. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  7. Walters, Brian (December 2008). "Bellendena montanum". Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) website. Archived from the original on 2007-09-03. Retrieved 6 April 2013.