Melastoma affine

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Melastoma affine
Melastoma affine.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Melastomataceae
Genus: Melastoma
Species:
M. affine
Binomial name
Melastoma affine
Synonyms

See text.

Flower & bud Melastoma affine flower & bud.jpg
Flower & bud

Melastoma affine, also known by the common names blue tongue, straits rhododendron or native lassiandra, is a shrub of the family Melastomataceae. Distributed in tropical and sub-tropical forests of India, South-east Asia and Australia, it is a plant of rainforest margins. Bees are the principal pollinators of this species.

Contents

Taxonomy

Melastoma affine was first described by Scottish botanist David Don in 1823. [1] The taxonomy of the genus Melastoma is tricky, requiring a complete revision. [2] [3] Early genetics studies were published from 2001, [4] through to recently, [5] but a revision based on them has yet to be. In 2001 Karsten Meyer proposed a revision in which this species and other species were subsumed within the species Melastoma malabathricum . [6]

In Australia, currently most authorities do not accept this; instead the naturally occurring populations in WA, NT, Qld and northeastern NSW remain recognised as this species M. affine, [1] [7] [8] except by authorities in Qld. [9] [10]

Synonyms

As of November 2020, the Australian Plant Census (APC) accepts the following synonyms of Melastoma affine: [11]

Two other names that have been used for this species it regards as misapplied rather than synonyms: [11]

Description

It is found as a shrub to 2 m (6.6 ft) in height. The leaves are ovate and measure 6 to 12 cm (2.5 to 4.5 in) in length, and 2–4 cm (1–1.5 in) wide. Covered in fine hair they have longitudinal veins. Appearing in spring and summer, the flowers occur on the ends of branchlets and are purple with five petals and sepals. [8] There are two sets of distinctive stamens, five opposite the petals and five opposite the sepals. The antesepalous ones have long anthers with a bilobed appendage at their base. [3] It produces 8mm long purple fruits that split open to expose a redish to purple flesh with many small seeds. [12] The common name "blue tongue" refers to the edible purplish-black pulp within the fruit capsules which stains the mouth blue. [13]

Distribution and habitat

Melastoma affine is found from India through southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia and into Australia. [14] Within Australia, it is found from the Kimberleys in Western Australia, [14] across the Northern Territory and Queensland, [15] and reaches as far south as Kempsey on the New South Wales mid north coast. [8] It grows in wet areas in sclerophyll forest. [8]

M. affine is important as being a pioneer species that colonises disturbed wet-sclerophyll and rain forest habitats in the Australasian region. [14] It produces no nectar - giving pollinators large amounts of pollen instead, which must be extracted through pores on the anthers. [14] Melastoma affine is pollinated by bees, particularly Xylocopa bombylans , X. aff. gressittii, Amegilla anomola and Nomia species. [14] Honeybees outcompete native bees for pollen at flowers, impacting on the species' reproduction. [16]

Cultivation

A fast-growing and adaptable shrub, Melastoma affine is sometimes seen in cultivation. It can be propagated by seed or cuttings. [15]

The plant is used to make grass jelly (cincau perdu) in Indonesia. The fruits ripen to dark gray, and contain an edible purple pulp around the seeds. It stains the mouth black (hence the name of the genus). [17] [18] Sap or an extract from the leaves is used as a herbal medicine against a number of conditions including diarrhoea, burns, ulcers, wounds, piles and thrush in Indonesia and the Solomon Islands. [18]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buzz pollination</span> Technique used by bees to release pollen

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<i>Melastoma</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae

Melastoma is a genus in the family Melastomataceae. It has over 100 species distributed around Southeast Asia, India, north to Japan, south to Australia and the Pacific Islands. The number of species should probably be reduced according to some sources. Many species have been planted around the world for the aesthetic value of their bright purple flowers.

<i>Rhexia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae

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Melastoma denticulatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Melastomataceae, native from the Solomon Islands to the south Pacific.

<i>Xylocopa bombylans</i> Species of bee

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<i>Persoonia lanceolata</i> Shrub in the family Proteaceae native to New South Wales in eastern Australia

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<i>Anisomeles malabarica</i> Species of flowering plant

Anisomeles malabarica, more commonly known as the Malabar catmint, is a species of herbaceous shrub in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to tropical and subtropical regions of India, and Sri Lanka, but can also be found in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bismarck Archipelago, Mauritius, Andaman Islands and Réunion.

<i>Melastoma malabathricum</i> Species of flowering plant

Melastoma malabathricum, known also as Malabar melastome, Indian rhododendron, Singapore rhododendron, planter's rhododendron and senduduk, is a flowering plant in the family Melastomataceae native to Seychelles, tropical and subtropical Asia to Australia and western Pacific islands. Despite its common names, it does not have any connection to actual rhododendrons, and belongs to the Rosids clade as opposed to the Asterids clade. This plant is usually found at elevations between 100 m and 2,800 m in grassland and sparse forest habitats. It has been used as a medicinal plant in certain parts of the world, but has been declared a noxious weed in the United States. M. malabathricum is a known hyperaccumulator of aluminium, and as such can be used for phytoremediation.

<i>Persoonia terminalis</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae

Persoonia terminalis, also known as the Torrington geebung, is a shrub belonging to the family Proteaceae, and native to northern New South Wales and southern Queensland in eastern Australia. Reported as a subspecies of Persoonia nutans in 1981, it was described as a species by Lawrie Johnson and his colleague Peter Weston in 1991.

<i>Melastoma septemnervium</i> Species of tree

Melastoma septemnervium are erect shrubs or small slender trees with 5 petal, medium-sized, pink flowers that have made them attractive for cultivation. The leaves have the 5 distinctive longitudinal veins (nerves) typical of plants in the family Melastomataceae.

Axinaea affinis is a species of tree in the family Melastomataceae. It is native to mountainous regions of the Andes in South America in Peru and Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

<i>Pimelea pagophila</i> Species of shrub

Pimelea pagophila, commonly known as Grampians rice-flower, is a species of shrub in the family Thymelaeaceae. It has a restricted distribution, white flowers in spherical heads at the end of branches, green leaves arranged in opposite pairs and is endemic to Victoria, Australia.

<i>Pimelea aeruginosa</i> Species of shrub

Pimelea aeruginosa is a species of small shrub in the family Thymelaeaceae. It is a small shrub with yellow flowers and is endemic to Western Australia.

<i>Pimelea ammocharis</i> Species of shrub

Pimelea ammocharis is a species of small shrub in the family Thymelaeaceae. It is a small shrub with white-yellow to orange flowers and is endemic to Western Australia.

<i>Andesanthus lepidotus</i> Species of tree

Andesanthus lepidotus, synonym Tibouchina lepidota, also known as alstonville, Andean princess flower, lasiandra, or glory bush, is a medium-sized ornamental tree or a large shrub native to northwestern South America that is cultivated for its masses of purple flowers from autumn right through to winter.

Memecylon caeruleum is a shrub or tree species in the Melastomataceae family. It is found from New Guinea, west through Southeast Asia to Tibet, Zhōngguó/China. It has become an invasive weed in the Seychelles. It has some local use for wood and food.

Pternandra is a genus of trees in the Melastomataceae family. There are 17 species in the taxa. It is native to an area from northern Australia through Southeast Asia to Hainan, Zhōngguó/China and India. The botanist William Jack who named the taxa, died at 27 years of age, the year his description was published.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pollen theft</span> Net removal of pollen by an animal

Pollen theft, also known as pollen robbery or floral larceny, occurs when an animal actively eats or collects pollen from a plant species but provides little or no pollination in return. Pollen theft was named as a concept at least as early as the 1980, and examples have been documented well before that. For example, native honey bees were documented 'stealing' large amounts of pollen from the large, bat-pollinated flowers of Parkia clappertoniana in Ghana in the 1950s. Nevertheless, pollen theft has typically received far less research attention than nectar robbing, despite the more direct consequences on plant reproduction.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Melastoma affine D.Don". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  2. ↑ Whiffin, Trevor (1990). "Melastoma". Flora of Australia: Volume 18: Podostemaceae to Combretaceae. Flora of Australia series. CSIRO Publishing / Australian Biological Resources Study. pp. 247–248. ISBN   978-0-644-10472-2.
  3. 1 2 Whiffin, Trevor (1990). "Melastoma affine". Flora of Australia: Volume 18: Podostemaceae to Combretaceae. Flora of Australia series. CSIRO Publishing / Australian Biological Resources Study. page 248, figs 61, 86, map 346. ISBN   978-0-644-10472-2.
  4. ↑ Clausing, G.; Renner, Susanne S. (2001). "Molecular phylogenetics of Melastomataceae and Memecylaceae: implications for character evolution". American Journal of Botany. 88 (3): 486–498. doi:10.2307/2657114. JSTOR   2657114. PMID   11250827. – see also the erratum.
  5. ↑ Michelangeli, Fabián A.; Guimaraes, Paulo J. F.; Penneys, Darin S.; et al. (2013). "Phylogenetic relationships and distribution of New World Melastomeae (Melastomataceae)". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 171 (1): 38–60. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2012.01295.x . ISSN   1095-8339.
  6. ↑ Meyer, Karsten (2001). "Revision of the Southeast Asian genus Melastoma (Melastomataceae)". Blumea. 46 (2): 351–398.
  7. ↑ Hosking, J. R.; Conn, B. J.; Lepschi, B. J.; Barker, C. H. (2011). "Plant species first recognised as naturalised or naturalising for New South Wales in 2004 and 2005" (PDF). Cunninghamia. 12 (1): 85–114. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Wilson, Peter G. (July 2001). "Melastoma affine D.Don – New South Wales Flora Online". PlantNET - The Plant Information Network System. 2.0. Sydney, Australia: The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  9. ↑ F.A.Zich; B.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan. "Melastoma malabathricum subsp. malabathricum". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants (RFK8). Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government . Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  10. ↑ Bostock, P.D.; Holland, A.E., eds. (2010). Census of the Queensland Flora 2010. Brisbane: Queensland Herbarium, Department of Environment and Resource Management. p. 101. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  11. 1 2 "APC: Melastoma affine". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  12. ↑ "Blue Tongue - Native Lassiandra - Melastoma affine". Fruit and Nut Trees - Fruit Bearing Plants. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ Low, Tim (1991). Wild Food Plants Of Australia. Australia: Angus & Robertson. p. 59. ISBN   978-0207169304.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Gross, Caroline L. (Dec 1993). "The Breeding System and Pollinators of Melastoma affine (Melastomataceae); A Pioneer Shrub in Tropical Australia". Biotropica. 25 (4): 468–74. doi:10.2307/2388870. JSTOR   2388870.
  15. 1 2 Elliot, Rodger W.; Jones, David L.; Blake, Trevor (1993). Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation:Volume 6 - K-M. Port Melbourne: Lothian Press. p. 375. ISBN   978-0-85091-589-1.
  16. ↑ Gross, Caroline L.; Mackay, D. (1998). "Honeybees reduce fitness in the pioneer shrub Melastoma affine (Melastomataceae)". Biological Conservation. 86 (2): 169–78. doi:10.1016/S0006-3207(98)00010-X.
  17. ↑ "Melastoma polyanthum" . Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  18. 1 2 Wiart, Christophe (2006). Medicinal Plants of Asia And the Pacific. CRC Press. pp. 140–141. ISBN   978-0849372452.
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