Crotalaria cunninghamii

Last updated

Crotalaria cunninghamii
Crotalaria cunninghamii 2.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Crotalaria
Species:
C. cunninghamii
Binomial name
Crotalaria cunninghamii
R.Br., 1849
Crotalaria cunninghamii - this form has distinctive green flowers in axillary clusters. Crotalaria cunninghamii.jpg
Crotalaria cunninghamii - this form has distinctive green flowers in axillary clusters.

Crotalaria cunninghamii, also known as green birdflower, birdflower ratulpo, parrot pea or regal birdflower, is a plant of the legume family Fabaceae, [1] named Crotalaria after the Greek word for rattle, because their seeds rattle, and cunninghamii after early 19th century botanist Allan Cunningham. [1] [2] Crotalaria cunninghamii is known as Mangarr to the Nyangumarta Warrarn Indigenous group. [3]

Contents

Crotalaria cunninghamii is a short-lived perennial plant native to Australia and its habitat is the deserts, coastlands, drainage lines and sand dunes of the northern half of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. This habitat is semi-arid to temperate regions in well drained soils. [4] Crotalaria cunninghamii blooms from January to April. It is pollinated by large bees and by honeyeaters. [5]

Identification

Crotalaria cunninghamii was identified By Alan Cunningham on a naval expedition in North Western Western Australia in the 1810s. During a seven-month trip to North Western Western Australian in 1817, Cunningham collected more than 300 different species, one of which was Crotalaria cunninghamii. Alan Cunningham landed on the shores of Parramatta in 1816 and swiftly started exploring and identifying plant species in Australia. After recovering from a severe fever suffered during an expedition west of the Blue mountains in 1817, Cunningham was asked to join a naval expedition to North West Western Australia which he gladly accepted. Cunningham made two more naval expeditions over the following years. His third voyage was almost disrupted due to a serious leak. Their ship, the cutter Mermaid, was then promptly fixed in Careening Bay, and Cunningham was free to discover hundreds more plants in Australia before returning to England. [6]

Description

The green birdflower is a perennial shrub that grows to about 1–3 m in height. It has hairy or woolly branches and dull green foliage. The oval leaves are about 30 mm long, the large and greenish pea flowers are streaked with fine black lines, and the club-shaped seed pods are up to 50 mm long. The plant's flowers grow on long spikes at the ends of its branches. The flower greatly resembles a bird attached by its beak to the central stalk of the flowerhead. [1] The Mauve flowers are partially covered in hairy lobes. Crotalaria cunninghamii is non-allergenic and its pods are large and almost square and are covered in a soft, green hairy shell. [3]

The appearance of the flowers of Crotalaria cunninghamii has been debated whether it resembles a bird by natural selection or if it is due to chance. The debate is whether the flowers are bird shaped to ward off unwanted predators or to attract certain pollinators, known as Batesian mimicry, or if it is just by chance that they look like birds and humans have associated the shape of the flower with a bird, known as pareidolia. Michael Whitehead from the University of Melbourne stated that the shape of the flowers are consistent with bird pollination, with its large flowers and long keel on its petals. This makes sense because the predominant pollinators of Crotalaria cunninghamii are nectivorous birds and bees. [7] There are a large number of plants with flowers that look like animals, such as the Dracula simia (monkey orchid) that looks like a monkey or the Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid) that looks like a moth. [8] These plants have the same debate surrounding their unique appearance.

Habitat

Crotalaria cunninghamii habitat is the arid to semi-arid zones to the tropics, including northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory, northern South Australia and southwest Queensland. Crotalaria cunninghamii predominantly grows in well drained soils in shrubland and grassland or savannah woodlands, usually on desert dunes, sandplains and drainage lines. Crotalaria cunninghamii also grows in Mulga communities in arid regions. [4] Mulga communities are 'hotspots' of resources such as water holes in deserts. Mulga communities account for 20% of the total land mass of arid Australia. [9]

Uses and cultivation

Economic

Crotalaria cunninghamii has some economic purposes and is a good source of fibre used for weaving. Crotalaria cunninghamii is also a popular ornamental flower because of its unique flower shape. It was featured as the in-season flower of the month by the Australian Botanic Gardens and Park Authority in March 2019. [7]

Crotalaria cunninghamii's main economic use is as an ornament in houses. [10] Another economic purpose is processing into a fibre to create ropes and fish nets. [10] The fibre was used by Aboriginal peoples to make sandals, fishing nets, canvas and even pulp. [10] In a paper written by Ds Davidson, published in 1947, it was noted that the Warnman people, an Aboriginal Australian group, used Crotalaria cunninghamii to make canvas shoes. The Warnman people primarily lived in the Gibson Desert and used Crotalaria cunninghamii fibre shoes to protect their feet from the hot sand and rugged stony desert ground. The way the fibre was constructed was by peeling off the soft bark and then tying the smaller fibres together and tying them around your feet. [11] The Indigenous people of the Little Sandy Desert also used the plant in this way, as well as for belts to hang food, such as goanna, from. [12]

Crotalaria cunninghamii has shown potential to be used in commercial agriculture. Crotalaria cunninghamii has a symbiotic relationship with bacteria in the soil which forms nodules and traps atmospheric nitrogen in the surrounding soil, [10] making the species useful for replenishing soil nitrogen. Crotalaria cunninghamii as well as 17 other wildflower seeds were analysed by the Australian Journal of Agricultural Research to see whether their seeds were viable for the production of essential oils, hydrocarbons and use as a human food. It was found that Crotalaria cunninghamii has a large percentage of crude oil and protein that could potentially be of use. Its ability to grow with little water and soil management, coupled with its high percentages of crude oil and proteins could make Crotalaria cunninghamii a useful plant economically to produce biofuel or human use natural oils. [13]

Medicinal

Crotalaria cunninghamii can also be used to provide medicinal support to humans; through a process of heating and boiling the leaves can be used to treat eye infections and the bark can be used to treat swelling of the limbs.[ citation needed ] Aboriginal Australians used Crotalaria cunninghamii to treat eye infections and pain. [14] [15] The use of Crotalaria cunninghamii as a medicine is not widespread today, but it has historically been proposed to potentially have use in homeopathy. [16]

Known hazards

There have been no reports of Crotalaria cunninghamii being toxic to humans, however, human toxicity has been seen in the Crotalaria genus. Many members of the Crotalaria genus are known to contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, the most potent of which are monocrotaline, retrorsine and retronecine. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are found in 3% of plants globally. [17] These alkaloids have a cumulative effect upon the body thus are completely safe if only small amounts are consumed. Many of these alkaloids have pronounced toxicity that has been known to decrease brain function, but the lungs and other organs may be affected as well. Mutagenic and carcinogenic properties of pyrrolizidine alkaloids have also been reported. [18] Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are known to alter vitamin A metabolism in rats, depressing plasma levels in livestock livers which can be fatal in some cases for animals. [19]

Abnormal pollinators

Crotalaria cunninghamii is usually pollinated by birds. During a study orchestrated by the Desert Ecology Research Group from the University of Sydney in 2011, it was found that during a period of unusually high rainfall in the Simpson Desert, rodents were observed eating and pollinating Crotalaria cunninghamii flowers. The rodents observed were the house mouse ( Mus musculus ) and sandy inland mouse ( Pseudomys hermannsburgensis ). There was a similar large rainfall in 2007 that this unusual phenomenon was compared to where there were no rodents observed. It was found that Crotalaria cunninghamii in 2011 had five times more inflorescences per plant, 90% more flowers per inflorescence and two to three times more nectar per flower, but the nectar was 30% less sugar rich. [20] Rodents accessed the nectar by chewing a hole through the calyx, as opposed to the way birds poke their beaks through the opening. The increase in the number of pollinators had a positive effect on the propagation of the species. [20]

The regular pollinators of Crotalaria cunninghamii are nectivorous birds, bugs and bees. [7] These creatures derive their energy from the nectar of Crotalaria cunninghamii and in return they pollinate the plant. The way they pollinate Crotalaria cunninghamii is by picking up its pollen when feeding from one male plant and when they go to a female plant some of that pollen falls into the female plant's stigma. [21]

Threats to survival

The conservation status of Crotalaria cunninghamii is least concern. Possible threats to Crotalaria cunninghamii include habitat degradation. This species occurs predominantly on sandy soils which are easily eroded by rabbits, camels and other grazing animals. [10] Crotalaria cunninghamii has been recognised as an endangered plant in NSW according to the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. NSW is the southernmost reaches of Crotalaria cunninghamii's range and hence struggles to propagate as it does everywhere else in its habitat. [22]

A general threat to flowers and plants in Australia is clearing of land for agricultural or other commercial uses. Crotalaria cunninghamii is not at high risk to land clearing for this purpose because it is confined to the Australian rangelands, which experience low rainfall and therefore have limited potential for development. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Jacobaea vulgaris</i> Flowering plant, daisy family Asteraceae

Jacobaea vulgaris, syn. Senecio jacobaea, is a very common wild flower in the family Asteraceae that is native to northern Eurasia, usually in dry, open places, and has also been widely distributed as a weed elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunbird</span> Family of birds

Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly in the males. Many species also have especially long tail feathers. Their range extends through most of Africa to the Middle East, South Asia, South-east Asia and southern China, to Indonesia, New Guinea and northern Australia. Species diversity is highest in equatorial regions.

<i>Heliconia</i> Genus of plants

Heliconia is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the western Pacific and Maluku in Indonesia. Many species of Heliconia are found in the tropical forests of these regions. Most species are listed as either vulnerable or data deficient by the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Several species are widely cultivated as ornamentals, and a few are naturalized in Florida, Gambia, and Thailand.

<i>Crotalaria</i> Genus of legumes

Crotalaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae commonly known as rattlepods. The genus includes over 700 species of herbaceous plants and shrubs. Africa is the continent with the majority of Crotalaria species, which are mainly found in damp grassland, especially in floodplains, depressions and along edges of swamps and rivers, but also in deciduous bush land, roadsides and fields. Some species of Crotalaria are grown as ornamentals. The common name rattlepod or rattlebox is derived from the fact that the seeds become loose in the pod as they mature, and rattle when the pod is shaken. The name derives from the Ancient Greek κρόταλον, meaning "castanet", and is the same root as the name for the rattlesnakes (Crotalus).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant hummingbird</span> Species of bird

The giant hummingbird is the only member of the genus Patagona and the largest member of the hummingbird family, weighing 18–24 g (0.63–0.85 oz) and having a wingspan of approximately 21.5 cm (8.5 in) and length of 23 cm (9.1 in). This is approximately the same length as a European starling or a northern cardinal, though the giant hummingbird is considerably lighter because it has a slender build and long bill, making the body a smaller proportion of the total length. This weight is almost twice that of the next heaviest hummingbird species and ten times that of the smallest, the bee hummingbird.

<i>Streptosolen</i> Species of plant

Streptosolen is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae. It is closely related to the genus Browallia, within which it was originally placed. The single species, Streptosolen jamesonii, the marmalade bush or fire bush, is an evergreen shrub bearing loose clusters of flowers which change gradually from yellow to red as they develop, resulting in an overall appearance resembling orange marmalade, found in open woodlands in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru. In its native Ecuador, the plant has the Spanish common names flor de quinde, flor del sol and jaboncillo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoophily</span> Pollination by animals

Zoophily, or zoogamy, is a form of pollination whereby pollen is transferred by animals, usually by invertebrates but in some cases vertebrates, particularly birds and bats, but also by other animals. Zoophilous species frequently have evolved mechanisms to make themselves more appealing to the particular type of pollinator, e.g. brightly colored or scented flowers, nectar, and appealing shapes and patterns. These plant-animal relationships are often mutually beneficial because of the food source provided in exchange for pollination.

<i>Acacia brachystachya</i> Species of plant

Acacia brachystachya, commonly known as umbrella mulga, turpentine mulga or false bowgada, is a shrub in the family Fabaceae. The species occurs in mulga and heath communities on sandhills and rocky ridges in all mainland states of Australia, except Victoria.

<i>Centipeda cunninghamii</i> Species of plant in the family Asteraceae

Centipeda cunninghamii is a species of flowering plant in the Asteraceae family. It is referred to by the common names old man weed, being the literal translation of its Koori name gukwonderuk, common sneezeweed and scent weed which were given by European settlers but are increasingly falling out of use. The plant was used by indigenous Australians for its purported medicinal properties. It grows along the Murray River, or generally anywhere there is water, especially low lying or swampy areas. It can be identified by its unique shaped leaf and its pungent scent which is pine-like and minty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nectar</span> Sugar-rich liquid produced by many flowering plants, that attracts pollinators and insects

Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, which in turn provide herbivore protection. Common nectar-consuming pollinators include mosquitoes, hoverflies, wasps, bees, butterflies and moths, hummingbirds, honeyeaters and bats. Nectar plays a crucial role in the foraging economics and evolution of nectar-eating species; for example, nectar foraging behavior is largely responsible for the divergent evolution of the African honey bee, A. m. scutellata and the western honey bee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithophily</span> Pollination by birds

Ornithophily or bird pollination is the pollination of flowering plants by birds. This sometimes coevolutionary association is derived from insect pollination (entomophily) and is particularly well developed in some parts of the world, especially in the tropics, Southern Africa, and on some island chains. The association involves several distinctive plant adaptations forming a "pollination syndrome". The plants typically have colourful, often red, flowers with long tubular structures holding ample nectar and orientations of the stamen and stigma that ensure contact with the pollinator. Birds involved in ornithophily tend to be specialist nectarivores with brushy tongues and long bills, that are either capable of hovering flight or light enough to perch on the flower structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyrrolizidine alkaloid</span> Class of chemical compounds

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), sometimes referred to as necine bases, are a group of naturally occurring alkaloids based on the structure of pyrrolizidine. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are produced by plants as a defense mechanism against insect herbivores. More than 660 PAs and PA N-oxides have been identified in over 6,000 plants, and about half of them exhibit hepatotoxicity. They are found frequently in plants in the Boraginaceae, Asteraceae, Orchidaceae and Fabaceae families; less frequently in the Convolvulaceae and Poaceae, and in at least one species in the Lamiaceae. It has been estimated that 3% of the world’s flowering plants contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Honey can contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, as can grains, milk, offal and eggs. To date (2011), there is no international regulation of PAs in food, unlike those for herbs and medicines.

<i>Calliandra eriophylla</i> Species of legume

Calliandra eriophylla, commonly known as fairy duster, is a low spreading shrub which is native to deserts and arid grasslands in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffy hummingbird</span> Species of bird

The buffy hummingbird is a species of bird in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Leucippus. This bird lives in dry forest and scrubland in northern South America where it feeds on insects and the nectar, flesh, and juice of cactus fruits.

<i>Crotalaria novae-hollandiae</i> Species of plant

Crotalaria novae-hollandiae, known commonly as the New Holland rattlepod, is a species of flowering plant that is native to Australia.

<i>Lysiphyllum cunninghamii</i> Species of legume

Lysiphyllum cunninghamii is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to northern Australia where it occurs from Western Australia through the Northern Territory to Queensland.

<i>Acacia cana</i> Species of legume

Acacia cana, or commonly named as boree or the cabbage-tree wattle or broad-leaved nealie, is part of the family Fabaceae and sub-family Mimosoideae. It is a dense shrub- tree that can grow to 6 metres (20 ft) high and is a perennial plant meaning it has long life span and doesn’t necessary produce a high amount of seed. The cabbage-tree wattle heavily flowers from August till October and relies on animals and insects for pollination and dispersal of seeds. This least concern acacia species is found in the western plains of New South Wales and Central Queensland the habitats of these areas are found to be sandy soils and gibber plains.

<i>Crotalaria retusa</i> Species of plant

Crotalaria retusa is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by various common names including devil-bean, rattleweed, shack shack, and wedge-leaf rattlepod. It is poisonous to livestock, and contaminates human food. Its original native range is unclear, probably including tropical Asia, Africa and Australia. It has been introduced as a crop plant in many tropical areas and has escaped from cultivation to become a troublesome weed; it is listed as a noxious weed in several US states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and is listed as an invasive weed in India, Cuba, and Cocos Island. Unlike some other species of Crotalaria, it is an annual plant.

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

Prionotes is a genus of flowering plants endemic to Tasmania, with a single species, Prionotes cerinthoides. Commonly known as climbing heath, it is a temperate rainforest climber or a small scrambling shrub in the mountains. It usually lives in very wet, undisturbed places.

<i>Senecio gregorii</i> Native Australian plant

Senecio gregorii, commonly known as annual yellowtop or fleshy groundsel, is a native Australian wildflower species, found in arid and semi-arid regions of the Australia and across the globe. It often grows prolifically after autumn/winter rains, showcasing stunning yellow flowers and fleshy foliage. The scientific name of this species was first published by Ferdinand von Mueller.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Crotalaria cunninghamii". anpsa.org.au. Archived from the original on 2021-03-29. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  2. ↑ "Allan Cunningham (1791 - 1839) - Pacsoa". www.pacsoa.org.au. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  3. 1 2 Kalpers, J., 2016. Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Nyangumarta Warrarn Indigenous Protected Area. [online] Ymac.org.au. Available at: <http://ymac.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/899-Ethno-booklet.pdf> [Accessed 31 May 2021].
  4. 1 2 Holland, A.E. “A Review of Crotalaria L. (Fabaceae: Crotalarieae) in Australia.” Austrobaileya, vol. 6, no. 2, 2002, pp. 293–324. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41738982. Accessed 19 Mar. 2021.
  5. ↑ "Did This Plant Evolve to Look Like a Bunch of Hummingbirds ...." 18 Jul. 2019, https://www.audubon.org/news/did-plant-evolve-look-bunch-hummingbirds. Accessed 15 May. 2021.
  6. ↑ Edwards, I., 2013. Allan Cunningham (1791 - 1839) - Pacsoa. [online] Pacsoa.org.au. Available at: <http://www.pacsoa.org.au/wiki/Allan_Cunningham_(1791_-_1839)> [Accessed 22 April 2021].
  7. 1 2 3 Alfonso, F., 2019. Did This Plant Evolve to Look Like a Bunch of Hummingbirds?. [online] Audubon. Available at: <https://www.audubon.org/news/did-plant-evolve-look-bunch-hummingbirds> [Accessed 17 May 2021].
  8. ↑ "17 Flowers That Look Like Something Else | Bored Panda." https://www.boredpanda.com/flowers-look-like-animals-people-monkeys-orchids-pareidolia/. Accessed 31 May. 2021.
  9. ↑ "Understanding Mulga." https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/about/science/pubs/infosheets/sdis025.pdf. Accessed 31 May. 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ken Fern, 2019. Tropical Plants Database. tropical.theferns.info. 2021-04-22. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Crotalaria+cunninghamii>
  11. ↑ Akerman, K., 2005. Shoes of Invisibility and Invisible Shoes: Australian Hunters and Gatherers and Ideas on the Origins of Footwear. Australian Aboriginal Studies (Canberra), [online] pp.1-10. Available at: <https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.426191358801974> [Accessed 31 May 2021].
  12. ↑ Pownall, Angela (1 August 2014). "Custodians open up Carnarvon Range". The West Australian . Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  13. ↑ Rivett, D., Tucker, D. and Jones, G., 1983. The chemical composition of seeds from some Australian plants. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research, 34(4), p.427.
  14. ↑ Turpin, Gerry; Ritmejerytė, Edita; Jamie, Joanne; Crayn, Darren; Wangchuk, Phurpa (10 August 2022). "Aboriginal medicinal plants of Queensland: ethnopharmacological uses, species diversity, and biodiscovery pathways". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine . 18 (1). doi: 10.1186/s13002-022-00552-6 . PMC   9364609 .
  15. ↑ "Crotalaria cunninghamii". Australian Native Plants Society (Australia).
  16. ↑ Webb, L., 1959. Mankind. 7th ed. pp.137-146.
  17. ↑ Ibanez, G., 2005. Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. [online] Sciencedirect.com. Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/pyrrolizidine-alkaloid> [Accessed 17 May 2021].
  18. ↑ Allen, O. N. (1981). The Leguminosae: A Source Book of Characteristics, Uses and Nodulation. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN   978-0-299-08400-4. OCLC   7175396.
  19. ↑ Cross, Jo (2006). "MEDLINE, PubMed, PubMed Central, and the NLM". Editors’ Bulletin. 2 (1): 1–5. doi: 10.1080/17521740701702115 .
  20. 1 2 Popic, T. J., Davila, Y. C., and Wardle, G. M. “Cheater or mutualist? Novel florivory interaction between nectar‐rich Crotalaria cunninghamii and small mammals.” Austral Ecology, 41: 390– 398. (2016) doi: 10.1111/aec.12324.
  21. ↑ "Pollination - The Australian Museum." https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/pollination/. Accessed 31 May. 2021.
  22. ↑ "Species Summary - Crotalaria cunninghamii - Sampled Red List ...." http://threatenedplants.myspecies.info/sites/threatenedplants.myspecies.info/files/Species%20Summary%20-%20Crotalaria%20cunninghamii%20.pdf. Accessed 31 May. 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.