Bellendena

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Bellendena
Bellendena montana - Walls of Jerusalem.jpg
Above: habit
Below: detail of inflorescences
Bellendena montana.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
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, sythesesizing of 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 from north-eastern Queensland, Australia

Athertonia is a genus of tall trees, constituting part of the plant family Proteaceae. It is a monotypic taxon, and the sole described species is Athertonia diversifolia, commonly known as Atherton oak. It is a small to medium-sized tree and is endemic to restricted tablelands and mountainous regions of the wet tropics rain forests of north-eastern Queensland, Australia, where it is widespread. For example, it grows in the Atherton Tableland region with which it shares its name, from the colonial pastoralist John Atherton (1837–1913). Its closest relatives are Heliciopsis and Virotia. A relative of the macadamia, it has potential as an ornamental tree and has an edible nut.

Triunia is a genus of medium to tall shrubs or small trees found as understorey plants in rainforests of eastern Australia. Members of the plant family Proteaceae, they are notable for their poisonous fleshy fruits or drupes. Only one species, T. youngiana, is commonly seen in cultivation.

Cardwellia is a genus of a sole described species of large trees in the plant family Proteaceae. The species Cardwellia sublimis is endemic to the rainforests of the wet tropics region of northeastern Queensland, Australia. Other common names include bull oak, golden spanglewood, lacewood, oak and oongaary. The compound leaves have up to 17 leaflets. It produces white inflorescences followed by woody fruits which are prominently displayed outside the canopy.

<i>Telopea truncata</i> Shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Tasmania

Telopea truncata, commonly known as the Tasmanian waratah, is a plant in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to Tasmania where it is found on moist acidic soils at altitudes of 600 to 1200 m (2000–4000 ft). Telopea truncata is a component of alpine eucalypt forest, rainforest and scrub communities. It grows as a multistemmed shrub to a height of 3 metres (10 ft), or occasionally as a small tree to 10 m (35 ft) high, with red flower heads, known as inflorescences, appearing over the Tasmanian summer and bearing 10 to 35 individual flowers. Yellow-flowered forms are occasionally seen, but do not form a population distinct from the rest of the species.

<i>Telopea aspera</i> Species of plant in the family Proteaceae from New South Wales in Australia

Telopea aspera, commonly known as Gibraltar Range waratah, is a plant in the family Proteaceae. It grows as a woody shrub to 3 metres (10 ft) high with leathery rough leaves and bright red flower heads known as inflorescences—each composed of hundreds of individual flowers. It is endemic to the New England region in New South Wales in Australia. It was formally described as a species by botanists Peter Weston and Mike Crisp in 1995, separated from its close relative Telopea speciosissima by its rough foliage and preference for dryer habitat. Unlike its better known relative, Telopea aspera has rarely been cultivated.

<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 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 myrtilloides</i> Species of flowering plant

Persoonia myrtilloides, commonly known as myrtle geebung, is a plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is an erect to spreading shrub with elliptic to egg-shaped leaves and yellow flowers in groups of up to forty on a rachis up to 170 mm (6.7 in) long.

<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 bargoensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Persoonia bargoensis, commonly known as the Bargo geebung, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves, yellow, tube-shaped flowers and green, pear-shaped fruit.

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

Persoonia elliptica, commonly known as snottygobble or spreading snottygobble, is a plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub or small tree with egg-shaped or lance-shaped leaves and groups of cylindrical yellow flowers. It usually grows in woodland or forest dominated by jarrah or marri within 50 km (30 mi) of the coast.

<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 button grass 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>Placospermum</i> Genus of trees

Placospermum is a genus of a single species of large trees, constituting part of the plant family Proteaceae. The species Placospermum coriaceum is endemic to the rainforests of the wet tropics region of northeastern Queensland, Australia. Common names include rose silky oak and plate-seeded oak.

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

Persoonia daphnoides is a plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a restricted area in eastern Australia. It is a prostrate shrub with spatula-shaped to egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and yellow flowers in groups of up to eight on a rachis up to 35 mm (1.4 in) long.

<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.

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

Persoonia brevifolia is a plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a restricted area near the border between south-eastern New South Wales and Victoria. It is an erect shrub with elliptic to egg-shaped leaves and cylindrical yellow flowers arranged singly in leaf axils.

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" (PDF). Telopea. 11 (3): 314–344. doi: 10.7751/telopea20065733 . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-02.
  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.