Mirbelia rubiifolia

Last updated

Mirbelia rubiifolia
Wildflower Morton National Park.JPG
In Morton National Park
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: Mirbelia
Species:
M. rubiifolia
Binomial name
Mirbelia rubiifolia
Synonyms
  • Mirbelia reticulata Sm. nom. illeg., nom. superfl.
  • Mirbelia rubiaefoliaG.Don orth. var.
  • Pultenaea rubiaefoliaAndrews orth. var.
  • Pultenaea rubiifoliaAndrews
Fruit at Barrenjoey Mirbelia rubiifolia (fruit) PC130077.jpg
Fruit at Barrenjoey

Mirbelia rubiifolia, commonly known as heathy mirbelia, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a diffuse, spreading shrub with narrowly egg-shaped to linear, sharply-pointed leaves and clusters of pink to purple flowers.

Contents

Description

Mirbelia rubiifolia is a diffuse, spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 50 cm (20 in) and has angular stems, sometimes covered with soft hairs pressed against the surface. Its leaves are arranged in whorls of three, and are narrowly egg-shaped to lance-shaped or linear, mostly 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) long, 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long and sharply pointed, on a petiole up to 1 mm (0.039 in) long. The upper surface has a conspicuous network of veins and the lower surface sometimes has a few scattered hairs. The flowers are arranged in clusters in leaf axils or in racemes on the ends of branches on silky-hairy pedicels up to 2 mm (0.079 in) long. The sepals are 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long and joined at the base, the upper two lobes almost completely fused. The petals are 8–9 mm (0.31–0.35 in) long and pink to purple, rarely white, the standard petal kidney-shaped and the keel much shorter than the wings. Flowering occurs from October to December and the fruit is an oval pod about 5 mm (0.20 in) long. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Taxonomy

Heathy mirbelia was first formally described in 1804 by Henry Cranke Andrews who gave it the name Pultenaea rubiaefolia in The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants, from material that had been taken to England and cultivated by Lee and Kennedy in Hammersmith in 1792. James Edward Smith changed the name to Mirbelia reticulata in 1805, noting that "[t]he leaves are elegantly reticulated with transverse veins, as if stitched with thread" but the name is illegitimate. [6] [7] In 1832, George Don changed the name to Mirbelia rubiifolia in A General History of Dichlamydeous Plants. [8] [9] The specific epithet (rubiifolia) refers to the resemblance of its leaves to those of the genus Rubus . [10]

Distribution and habitat

Heathy mirbelia is found in sclerophyll forest and woodlands, as well as in heath on sandy soils on the coast or tablelands, often in areas liable to inundation. It is found from Croajingolong National Park in Victoria northward through New South Wales to Queensland. [3] [11]

Use in horticulture

Mirbelia rubiifolia is rarely cultivated, but adapts well to a part-shaded spot in a subtropical garden. Supplementary water in dry spells is beneficial. It can be an untidy and scrambling shrub which can look better with pruning. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Mirbelia</i> Genus of legumes

Mirbelia is a plant genus belonging to the family Fabaceae and is endemic to Australia, occurring in every mainland state except South Australia. Plants in the genus Mirbelia are prickly, perennial shrubs with simple, sometimes sharply-pointed leaves, or the leaves absent. The flowers are arranged singly or in groups in leaf axils or on the ends of branches, the sepals joined at the base with five teeth. The petals are usually red, orange, purplish or bluish and the fruit is an inflated pod.

<i>Mirbelia oxylobioides</i> Species of legume

Mirbelia oxylobioides, commonly known as mountain mirbelia or sandstone bushpea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a low-lying or erect shrub with narrowly elliptic to egg-shaped leaves and orange-yellow and reddish-purple flowers arranged near the end of the branches.

<i>Pultenaea juniperina</i> Species of legume

Pultenaea juniperina, commonly known as prickly bush-pea or prickly beauty is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is an erect, spiky shrub with hairy stems, linear to narrow elliptic leaves with stipules at the base, and yellow-orange and red flowers.

<i>Thryptomene calycina</i> Species of shrub

Thryptomene calycina, commonly known as Grampians thryptomene, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to Victoria in Australia. It is an erect or spreading shrub with oblong, elliptic or egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end toward the base, and white flowers with five stamens.

<i>Mirbelia speciosa</i> Species of legume

Mirbelia speciosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with narrowly linear leaves arranged in whorls of three, and bluish-purple flowers usually arranged singly in leaf axils.

<i>Prostanthera arapilensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Prostanthera arapilensis is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to a small area of Victoria, Australia. It is an erect shrub with hairy branches, broadly egg-shaped to more or less round leaves and pale mauve or white flowers with orange-brown spots or streaks inside the petal tube.

<i>Prostanthera monticola</i> Species of flowering plant

Prostanthera monticola, commonly known as Buffalo mint-bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to higher areas of south-eastern Australia. It is a sprawling, open shrub with red, hairy branches, lance-shaped to narrow elliptic leaves and pale bluish-green to grey-green flowers with dark purple-blue veins.

<i>Cryptandra amara</i> Species of flowering plant

Cryptandra amara, commonly known as bitter cryptandra or pretty pearlflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a densely-branched shrub with clustered, more or less linear to egg-shaped or elliptic leaves, and tube-shaped white flowers arranged on the ends of branchlets.

<i>Cryptandra ericoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Cryptandra ericoides, commonly known as heathy cryptandra, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is a wiry, low-lying to erect shrub with often clustered, cylindrical leaves, and tube-shaped white flowers arranged in clusters on the ends of branchlets.

<i>Pultenaea dentata</i> Species of legume

Pultenaea dentata, commonly known as clustered bush-pea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is an erect to low-lying or prostrate, open shrub with elliptic to narrow egg-shaped leaves and dense clusters of yellow, red and purple flowers.

<i>Epacris acuminata</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris acuminata, commonly known as claspleaf heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a small, spreading shrub with egg-shaped, stem-clasping leaves and tube-shaped flowers with white petals.

<i>Mirbelia confertiflora</i> Species of legume

Mirbelia confertiflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a rigid, bushy shrub with linear leaves and yellow to orange flowers arranged in racemes near the end of the branches.

<i>Spyridium daltonii</i> Species of shrub

Spyridium daltonii is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to Victoria in Australia. It is a shrub with softly-hairy branchlets, linear to narrowly elliptic leaves, and small groups of hairy, yellowish flowers.

<i>Mirbelia pungens</i> Species of legume

Mirbelia pungens, commonly known as prickly mirbelia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is an erect or prostrate shrub with sharply-pointed linear leaves and orange-red flowers with blue or purple markings.

Mirbelia rhagodioides is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to inland areas of Western Australia. It is an erect, prickly shrub with clustered linear or narrowly elliptic leaves and yellow and red flowers.

Spyridium × ramosissimum, commonly known as branched spyridium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to Victoria in Australia. It is a small shrub with woolly-hairy branches, egg-shaped leaves, and crowded heads of hairy flowers with brown bracts.

<i>Commersonia rugosa</i> Species of plant

Commersonia rugosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and endemic to New South Wales. It is an open, straggly shrub with linear to narrowly egg-shaped leaves with irregular teeth or lobes on the edges, and white flowers in clusters of 3 to 15.

<i>Androcalva reticulata</i> Species of shrub

Androcalva reticulata is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to north-eastern Queensland. It is a low shrub that forms suckers, its new growth covered with star-shaped hairs, and has egg-shaped leaves with irregular teeth on the edges, and groups of two to six red flowers.

<i>Leucopogon thymifolius</i> Species of plant

Leucopogon thymifolius, commonly known as thyme beard-heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Victoria. It is a slender shrub with spreading, egg-shaped to oblong leaves and white to pale pink, tube-shaped flowers arranged in spikes of seven to thirteen in leaf axils, or on the ends of leafless branches.

<i>Leucopogon virgatus</i> Species of plant

Leucopogon virgatus, commonly known as common beard-heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is an erect to low-lying shrub with linear to narrowly lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves, and erect clusters of three to seven white, tube-shaped flowers on the ends of branches and in upper leaf axils.

References

  1. ↑ "Mirbelia rubiifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  2. 1 2 Porteners, Marianne F. "Mirbelia rubiifolia". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  3. 1 2 Alan Fairley – Wildflowers of Sydney & adjoining areas ISBN   1-876473-38-X page 204
  4. ↑ Jeanes, Jeff A.; Walsh, Neville G. "Mirbelia rubiifolia". Rpoyal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  5. ↑ Robinson, Les (1991). Field guide to the native plants of Sydney. Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 82. ISBN   0864171927.
  6. ↑ "Mirbelia reticulata". APNI. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  7. ↑ Smith, James E. (1805). "Remarks on the generic Characters of the Decandrous Papilionaceous Plants of New Holland". Annals of Botany. 1 (3): 511–512. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  8. ↑ "Mirbelia rubiifolia". APNI. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  9. ↑ Don, George (1832). A General History of Dichlamydeous Plants. Vol. 2. London. p. 126. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  10. 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. pp. 430–31. ISBN   978-0-85091-589-1.
  11. ↑ Wild Plants of Victoria (database). Viridans Biological Databases & Department of Sustainability and Environment. 2009.
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.