| Mountain snowberry | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Gaultheria |
| Species: | G. depressa |
| Binomial name | |
| Gaultheria depressa | |
Gaultheria depressa, commonly known as the mountain snowberry [1] or alpine wax berry, is a small ground-hugging shrub of the heath family Ericaceae native to rocky alpine areas of Tasmania, Australia, [2] and New Zealand. [3]
In Australia, Gaultheria depressa is a prostrate shrub 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 in) high and 50 to 150 cm (19.5 to 59 in) across. It grows larger in New Zealand. The small leaves can be oval or round and measure 0.5 to 1 cm (0.20 to 0.39 in) in length and have serrate margins. The small white tubular flowers appear from September to January and are followed by white or red fruit which is around 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter. [4] The berries are edible.
Joseph Dalton Hooker described Gaultheria depressa in 1847 from a collection by Ronald Campbell Gunn at Ben Lomond in Tasmania. [5] The species name is Latin depressa 'flat'. Analysis of DNA shows the next closest relative to Gaultheria depressa is the New Zealand species Gaultheria antipoda , which suggests the Australian populations of G. depressa dispersed to Australia from New Zealand. The next closest relative to the two species is the New Zealand species Gaultheria oppositifolia . [6]
In New Zealand, the prostrate habit and dependent fruit shielded by foliage from above suggest it is suited for dispersal by lizards. Furthermore, the ground weta species (Zealandosandrus maculifrons) has been recorded eating the fruit. [7]
It is suitable for rockeries in gardens in temperate climates and has been available commercially in England. It prefers well-drained acidic soil in part shade. [4]
Early settlers in the southern district of New Zealand Otago used to make snowberry pies out of the Gaultheria depressa fruit. [8]
This species has the following varieties: [6] [9]
Symphoricarpos is a small genus of about 15 species of deciduous shrubs in the family Caprifoliaceae. With the exception of the Chinese coralberry, S. sinensis, which is indigenous to western China, all species are native to North and Central America. The name of the genus is derived from the Ancient Greek words συμφορεῖν (sumphoreîn), meaning "to bear together", and καρπός (karpós), meaning "fruit". It refers to the closely packed clusters of berries the species produces. Species in the genus having common names including snowberry, waxberry and ghostberry.
Gaultheria procumbens, also called the eastern teaberry, the checkerberry, the boxberry, or the American wintergreen, is a species of Gaultheria native to northeastern North America from Newfoundland west to southeastern Manitoba, and south to Alabama. It is a member of the Ericaceae.
Gaultheria is a genus of about 283 species of shrubs in the family Ericaceae. The name commemorates Jean François Gaultier of Quebec, an honour bestowed by the Scandinavian Pehr Kalm in 1748 and taken up by Carl Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum. These plants are native to Asia, Australasia and North and South America. In the past, the Southern Hemisphere species were often treated as the separate genus Pernettya, but no consistent reliable morphological or genetic differences support recognition of two genera, and they are now united in the single genus Gaultheria.
Dracophyllum is a genus of plants belonging to the family Ericaceae, formerly Epacridaceae. There are 61 species in the genus, mostly shrubs, but also cushion plants and trees, found in New Zealand, Australia, Lord Howe Island and New Caledonia. The name Dracophyllum, meaning dragon-leaf, refers to their strong outward similarity to the unrelated Dracaena, sometimes known as dragon tree. Although dicotyledonous, they resemble primitive monocots with their slender leaves concentrated in clumps at the ends of the branches; they are sometimes called grass-trees.
Acrotriche depressa, commonly known as wiry ground-berry or honeypots, is a flowering plant in the family Ericaceae. It is a small shrub with crowded greyish-green leaves and white or green flowers and grows in southern Australia.
Gaultheria hispida, commonly known as the copperleaf snowberry, is an endemic eudicot of Tasmania, Australia. It is an erect multi-branched shrub, that can be found in wet forests and alpine woodlands. Its berries appear snowy white and leaves are tipped with a copper tinge, hence the common name.
Styphelia humifusa, commonly known as native cranberry or cranberry heath, is a small prostrate shrub or groundcover in the heath family Ericaceae. The species is endemic to south-eastern Australia.
Gaultheria hispidula, commonly known as the creeping snowberry or moxie-plum, and known to Micmaq tribes of Newfoundland as Manna Teaberry, is a perennial spreading ground-level vine of the heath family Ericaceae. It is native to North America and produces small white edible berries. It fruits from August to September. Its leaves and berries taste and smell like wintergreen.
Leptospermum rupestre, commonly known as alpine tea-tree or prostrate tea-tree, is a flowering shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It is endemic to Tasmania. In alpine areas it assumes a prostrate habit while in subalpine areas it appears as a large shrub.
Pentachondra pumila, also known as carpet heath, is a small alpine shrub in the epacris family (Ericaceae). It is commonly found in Australia and New Zealand in areas of high rainfall, being known for its small white flowers as well as its red, hollow fruit that grows on branch ends. It is distinguishable as a prostrate, mat-like shrub, growing in rocky or boggy alpine areas. The fruit is edible and is a food source for many species of bird.
Gaultheria antipoda, commonly known as snowberry or fools beech, is a shrub in the family Ericaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand.
Gaultheria oppositifolia is a shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, endemic to New Zealand. Māori names include kama and niniwa. Common name for the genus in New Zealand is snowberry.
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.
Astelia alpina called pineapple grass, silver astelia, or perching lily is a commonly found species in alpine and subalpine areas of Tasmania and the Australian Alps. It is a perennial herb that typically dominates its environment by growing in dense clusters, called mats, in alpine bogs. There are two subspecies: Astelia alpina var. novae hollandiae from New South Wales and Victoria and Astelia alpina var. alpina endemic to Tasmania. Both subspecies appear very similar to each other. The species was originally described by Robert Brown.
Acrothamnus colensoi, also known as Colenso's mingimingi or mountain heath, is a species of plant in the family Ericaceae endemic to New Zealand. It is a small shrub that grow to approximately 50 cm tall, and can spread to form mounds of up to 2 m across. Fruit are round and are white, pink or dark red in colour. It can be found in both the lower North and eastern South Islands, in scrubland, tussock grassland, and rocky fellfield.
Styphelia nesophila, commonly known as sharp beard-heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is native to south-eastern Australia and New Zealand, where it is known as pātōtara, or dwarf mingimingi. It is a prickly, prostrate to trailing or low-growing shrub with egg-shaped leaves, and erect, tube-shaped white flowers usually arranged singly in leaf axils.
Dracophyllum ophioliticum, commonly known as asbestos inaka and asbestos turpentine tree, is a species of shrub in the family Ericaceae. Endemic to New Zealand, it grows into a sprawling shrub, reaching heights of just 30–200 cm (10–80 in), and has leaves which form bunches at the end of its branches.
Gaultheria adenothrix, known as アカモノ (akamono) or イワハゼ (iwahaze), is a small evergreen shrub in the Ericaceae. It is one of three Gaultheria species native to Japan and grows in low-mountain to subalpine areas.
Gaultheria crassa, commonly known as the scarlet snowberry, is a species of small shrub that belongs to the heath family Ericaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand.
Montitega dealbata is a dense mat-forming plant native to Tasmania and New Zealand. The whitish underside of the 3–5mm long and 1–2mm wide leaves distinguish this species from the similar alpine plant Pentachondra pumila.
