Isophysis

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Isophysis
Isophysis tasmanica.jpg
Isophysis tasmanica, Mount Eliza, Southwest National Park
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Isophysidoideae
Thorne & Reveal
Genus: Isophysis
T.Moore [1]
Species:
I. tasmanica
Binomial name
Isophysis tasmanica
(Hook.) T.Moore [2]
Synonyms
  • Hewardia tasmanicaHook.

Isophysis is a genus of herbaceous, perennial and rhizomatous plants in the Iris family (Iridaceae). A monotypic genus formerly known as Hewardia, it contains a single species, [3] [4] Isophysis tasmanica is a Palaeoendemic found only in the south-west of Tasmania. [4]

Contents

The genus name is derived from the Greek words iso, meaning "equal", and physis, meaning "bladder". [5]

Habitat

Isophysis tasmanica is a dominant species within alpine sedge land. It is also found in coniferous, alpine, bolster and deciduous heathlands. [6] It occurs from sea level to 1300m. [7] The vegetation that it resides in is open in structure. [4] It grows on highly siliceous rocks. [4] It is often found on gravel slopes or rock crevices. [7]

Description

Isophysis tasmanica is a tufted plant with smooth leaves that come from a woody underground rhizome. [7] The leaves are 5–30 cm long and 3-5mm wide. [7] The leaves are linear and persist in fans. [7] The scape is erect, terete and unbranched, the scrape can be 40 cm high. [7] Up the scape there are one to three smaller leaves that wrap around the stem. [7] Below the flower, a pair of spath-bracts (modified leaves) that enclose the solitary terminal flower are brown or purple. [7] The flower is purple and can be almost black but they are sometimes yellow. [8] The petals are equal and 2.5–6 cm long 3-9mm wide. These petals come together in a tube. It has a superior ovary with three flattened stamens. [7] This superior ovary, distinguishes it from any other member of the Iridaceae. Plants in the Iridaceae family are usually distinguished by the "septal nectaries" this is tissue in an ovary that produces nectar, but these are not present within Isophyis tasmanica. [9] This suggests that Isophyis tasmanica does not use nectar to attract pollinators. [9]

The former genus name Hewardia is used as a landmark name in Tasmania's southwest wilderness such as Hewardia Ridge on Mt. Picton located near Pineapple flats, named after the Pineapple Grass.

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<i>Iris darwasica</i> Species of plant

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Iris afghanica is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Regelia. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Afghanistan, with thin bluish-green leaves and creamy yellow or white flowers, that are veined with purple-brown. It has yellow-green or purple beards. Although, in the wild, it can vary in colour and size. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

Iris goniocarpa is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus of Iris and in the section Pseudoregelia. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from China, India, Burma and Bhutan. It has yellow green to dark green, long leaves, slender stem and, one flower between blue, lavender-blue, lilac, blue-violet or blue-purple. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

Iris ivanovae is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Pseudoregelia. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from eastern Russia, China, and Mongolia.

<i>Iris tigridia</i> Species of plant of the genus Iris

Iris tigridia is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Pseudoregelia. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and China. It has dark green or greyish green, grass-like leaves, a short slender stem and a single flowers that are either violet, dark blue, blue-purple, dark purple, mauve, lilac, lavender, or light purple. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

Iris schachtii is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from central Anatolia, in Turkey. It has small, thin grey-green leaves, a short stem with 1–3 branches, which are normally, covered with a green leaf with purple staining. It has 2 or more fragrant flowers in late spring, which come in shades of yellow or purple, or violet and yellow,. It has a yellow or white with yellow-tips beard. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions, but prefers regions with dry, hot summers.

<i>Iris acutiloba</i> Species of plant

Iris acutiloba is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus of Iris and section Oncocyclus. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from the mountains of the Caucasus and found in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Dagestan in the North Caucasus, and Iran. It is a dwarf species, with narrow, falcate or curved leaves, it has one flower in spring or early summer, that comes in shades from cream, creamy white, whitish, pale brown, light grey, to pale violet. It is heavily veined or streaked and pointed, with 2 dark spots and brown, purple, dark purple, or black short beard. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions. There are two subspecies, Iris acutiloba subsp. lineolata and Iris acutiloba subsp. longitepala.

<i>Astelia alpina</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

References

  1. Proc. Linn. Soc. London 2: 212 (1853).
  2. Bot. Not. 127: 107 (1974).
  3. Royal Horticultural Society, Kew. A detailed checklist for genus Isophysis.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Jordan, Gregory; Harrison, Peter; Worth, James; Grant, Williamson; Kirkpatrick, James (2015). "Palaeoendemic plants provide evidence for persistence of open well-watered vegetation since the Cretaceous". Global Ecology and Microbiology. 25 (2): 2, 5, 7. doi:10.1111/geb.12389 via University of Tasmania.
  5. Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2008). The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 91–93. ISBN   978-0-88192-897-6.
  6. Kirkpatrick, Jamie (1997). Alpine Tasmania: an illustrated guide to the flora and vegetation (1st ed.). Melbourne: Oxford university press. pp. 148, 175–178. ISBN   0-19-553753-X.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Curtis, Winifred; Morris, Dennis (1994). The student's flora of Tasmania (Part 4B ed.). Tasmania, Australia: St. David’s Park Publishing. p. 401. ISBN   0-7246-2313-2.
  8. Jordan, Greg (2019). "Isophysis (formerly known as Hewardia; Iridaceae)". Key to Tasmanian Vascular Plants. Archived from the original on 2005-02-17. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  9. 1 2 Rudall, Paula; Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2003). "Evolution of Floral Nectaries in Iridaceae". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 33 (3): 613–631. doi:10.2307/3298546. JSTOR   3298546 via JSTOR.