Eucryphia

Last updated

Eucryphia
Eucryphia cordifolia Flor del ulmo (RastaChango).jpg
Eucryphia cordifolia , South America
Eucryphia lucida (Leatherwood) flower.jpg
Eucryphia lucida , Tasmania, Australia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Oxalidales
Family: Cunoniaceae
Genus: Eucryphia
Cav.
Type species
Eucryphia cordifolia
Cav. [1] (1798)
Species

See text

Synonyms [2]
  • Pellinia Molina
  • Carpodontos Labill.

Eucryphia is a small genus of trees and large shrubs native to the south temperate regions of South America and coastal eastern Australia, mainly Tasmania. Sometimes placed in a family of their own, the Eucryphiaceae, more recent classifications place them in the Cunoniaceae. There are seven species, [2] two in South America and five in Australia, and several named hybrids.

Contents

Description

They are mostly evergreen though one species (E. glutinosa) is usually deciduous. [3]

The leaves are opposite, and either simple or pinnate with 3-13 leaflets. The flowers are produced in late summer or autumn, are showy and sweetly scented, 3–6 cm diameter, with four creamy-white petals, and numerous stamens and styles. The fruit is a woody capsule 1-1.5 cm long containing several seeds, and maturing in 12–15 months.

Etymology

The generic name Eucryphia is composed of two parts, namely eu- and -cryphia. The Greek ευ-κρυφαιος means well-covered and refers to the foliage, which is clustered towards the apex of branches. [4]

Species

Extant species

Extinct species

Natural hybrids

There are two known natural hybrids, although additional, artificial hybrids have been created. However, these are not naturally occurring.

Artificial hybrids and cultivars

(those marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit) [10]

Uses

The species and their hybrids are attractive small trees for gardens, typically with a slender conic crown when young, though widening with age. They are valued for their conspicuous scented flowers, produced in late summer and autumn when few or no other trees are in flower. Cultivation is restricted to areas with mild winters, cool summers and good rainfall; away from their native areas, this restricts them to the Atlantic coastal regions of Europe, the Pacific Northwest of North America, and New Zealand.

Honey

The nectar of two of the species provides an important sources of honey. Eucryphia lucida from Tasmania is the main source of a very distinctively flavoured honey known as Leatherwood (the common name for the species). Some of this honey may come from the other Tasmanian species, E. milliganii. In Chile, Ulmo honey (again after the local species name) comes from E. cordifolia. Leatherwood honey and Ulmo honey are very similar in flavour, even though the two species have probably been separated for more than 45 million years.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasmanian temperate rainforests</span> Terrestrial ecoregion in Tasmania, Australia

The Tasmanian temperate rain forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in western Tasmania. The ecoregion is part of the Australasian realm, which includes Tasmania and Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and adjacent islands.

<i>Koelreuteria paniculata</i> Species of flowering plant

Koelreuteria paniculata is a species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to eastern Asia. It was introduced in Europe in 1747, and to America in 1763, and has become a popular landscape tree worldwide. Common names include goldenrain tree, pride of India, China tree, and the varnish tree.

<i>Lomatia tasmanica</i> Tasmanian shrub from the family Proteaceae

Lomatia tasmanica, commonly known as King's lomatia, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae native to Tasmania. Growing up to 8 metres (26 ft) tall, the plant has shiny green pinnate (lobed) leaves and bears red flowers in the summer, but yields neither fruit nor seeds. King's lomatia is unusual because all of the remaining plants are genetically identical clones. Because it has three sets of chromosomes and is therefore sterile, reproduction occurs only vegetatively: when a branch falls, that branch grows new roots, establishing a new plant that is genetically identical to its parent.

<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>Athrotaxis</i> Genus of conifers

Athrotaxis is a genus of two to three species of conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. The genus is endemic to western Tasmania, where they grow in high-elevation temperate rainforests.

<i>Nothofagus cunninghamii</i> Species of tree

Nothofagus cunninghamii, commonly known as myrtle beech or Tasmanian myrtle, is the dominant species of cool temperate rainforests in Tasmania and Southern Victoria. It has low fire resistance and grows best in partial shade conditions.

<i>Fragaria chiloensis</i> Species of plant

Fragaria chiloensis, the beach strawberry, Chilean strawberry, or coastal strawberry, is one of two species of wild strawberry that were hybridized to create the modern garden strawberry. It is native to the Pacific Ocean coasts of North and South America.

<i>Phyllocladus aspleniifolius</i> Species of conifer

Phyllocladus aspleniifolius, commonly known as the celerytop pine, is an endemic gymnosperm of Tasmania, Australia. It is widespread and common in Tasmania, with the most abundance in the western highlands. Its ‘leaves’ appear similar to those of a celery plant, hence the common name.

<i>Acacia dealbata</i> Species of flowering plant

Acacia dealbata, the silver wattle, blue wattle or mimosa, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, native to southeastern Australia in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory, and widely introduced in Mediterranean, warm temperate, and highland tropical landscapes.

<i>Eucryphia lucida</i> Species of flowering plant

Eucryphia lucida, the leatherwood, is a species of tree or large shrub endemic to forests of western Tasmania, Australia. An attractive plant used in both horticulture and apiculture, it was promoted by the Tasmanian Branch of the then SGAP as an alternative to the Tasmanian blue gum for Tasmania's floral emblem. It was described as E. billiarderi at one stage, this now being a synonym.

Regional floras typically contain complete dichotomous keys for identification of trees and other plants to species. The following guide originates from Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them by Harriet L. Keeler and applies to some flowering trees which are indigenous to the region extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to the northern boundaries of the southern states, together with a few well-known and naturalized foreign trees. This guide excludes conifers and is not an exhaustive list of all trees known to occur in the region.

<i>Eucryphia cordifolia</i> Species of tree

Eucryphia cordifolia, the ulmo, is a species of tree in the family Cunoniaceae. It is found in Chile and Argentina. It is threatened by logging and habitat loss. The natural habitat is along the Andes Range from 38 to 43°S, and up to 700 meters (2300 ft) above sea level. It is a very elegant tree with a thick trunk and wide crown and can become over 12 m (39 ft) high. It blooms in February and March, depending on latitude and altitude. The fruit is a capsule about 1.5 cm (0.6 in) length.

<i>Hedlundia hybrida</i> Hybrid species of tree

Hedlundia hybrida, the oakleaf mountain ash, Swedish service-tree or Finnish whitebeam, is a species of whitebeam native to Norway, eastern Sweden, south-western Finland, and locally in Latvia.

Eucryphia jinksii, the Springbrook leatherwood, is a species of rare rainforest trees found in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, of the plant family Cunoniaceae.

<i>Eucryphia moorei</i> Species of tree

Eucryphia moorei, commonly known as pinkwood, plumwood, or eastern leatherwood is a tree found in southeastern New South Wales, Australia. It also occurs just over the border at the Howe Range in Victoria. Pinkwood is the dominant tree species of cool-temperate rainforests of southeastern NSW. Young plants often grow as hemiepiphytes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nymans</span> Grade II* garden in West Sussex, England

Nymans is an English garden to the east of the village of Handcross, and in the civil parish of Slaugham in West Sussex, England. The garden was developed, starting in the late 19th century, by three generations of the Messel family, and was brought to renown by Leonard Messel.

<i>Eucryphia milliganii</i> Species of tree

Eucryphia milliganii, also known as the dwarf leatherwood, is a shrub or small tree endemic to areas of Tasmania. It grows in western and southern Tasmania, where it is most commonly found in alpine and sub-alpine heath areas. It is the sister species of the popular horticulture plant Eucryphia lucida also known as Leatherwood..

<i>Eucryphia glutinosa</i> Species of plant

Eucryphia glutinosa, the brush bush or nirrhe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cunoniaceae, native to moist woodland habitats in Chile. It is a large deciduous shrub or small tree, growing to 10 m (33 ft) tall by 6 m (20 ft) wide, with glossy dark green leaves turning red in autumn. Single four-petalled, fragrant white flowers with prominent stamens appear in late summer.

Eucryphia falcata is an extinct species of flowering plant. It belongs to the genus Eucryphia within the family Cunoniaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainforests and vine thickets</span>

Rainforests and vine thickets are a major vegetation group in Australia. It consists of temperate to tropical rainforests, monsoon forests, and vine thickets. Rainforests and vine thickets are generally found in small pockets across the eastern and northern portions of the continent, including western Tasmania, eastern New South Wales, eastern Queensland, the northern portion of the Northern Territory, and the Kimberley Region of northeastern Western Australia.

References

  1. Bausch, J. (1938). "A revision of the Eucryphiaceae." Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew), 1938(8), 317-349.
  2. 1 2 "Eucryphia Cav". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  3. Alvarez, C., Acevedo Tapia, M. A., González Ortega, M. P., Dumroese, R. K., Cartes Rodríguez, E. J., & Quiroz Marchant, I. (2019). "Field Establishment Techniques for Guindo Santo, an Endemic Species from Central Chile."
  4. Gledhill, D. (2008). "The Names of Plants." p. 159. Cambridge University Press.
  5. 1 2 3 Forster, Paul I.; Hyland, Bernie P. M. (1997). "Two new species of Eucryphia Cav. (Cunoniaceae) from Queensland". Austrobaileya. 4 (4): 589–596. JSTOR   41738890.
  6. F.A. Zich; B.Hyland; T. Whiffen; R.A. Kerrigan. "Eucryphia wilkiei". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants (RFK8). Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government . Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 Hill, Robert S. (1991). "Leaves of Eucryphia (Eucryphiaceae) from tertiary sediments in south-eastern Australia". Australian Systematic Botany. 4 (3): 481–497. doi:10.1071/SB9910481.
  8. "Eucryphia × hybrida J.Bausch". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  9. "Eucryphia × nymansensis J.Bausch". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  10. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 37. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  11. "RHS Plant Selector - Eucryphia × intermedia 'Rostrevor'" . Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  12. 1 2 Willis, James H. (1966). "Eucryphia: Extra Tasmanian Members". Australian Plants. ASGAP. 3 (26): 255. ISSN   0005-0008.
  13. "RHS Plant Selector - Eucryphia × nymansensis 'Nymansay'" . Retrieved 7 June 2020.