| Muehlenbeckia australis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Polygonaceae |
| Genus: | Muehlenbeckia |
| Species: | M. australis |
| Binomial name | |
| Muehlenbeckia australis | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Muehlenbeckia australis, the large-leaved muehlenbeckia or pohuehue, is a prostrate or climbing plant native to New Zealand. [2]
The species grows up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall with grey bark. The leaves are on stiff petioles and are 25 millimetres (0.98 in) long. Lamina is 2–8 centimetres (0.79–3.15 in) by 1–3 centimetres (0.39–1.18 in) long. [1] It has juvenile and adult leaf forms and loses its leaves in winter. The flowers are greenish and the fruits are juicy with black shiny seeds covered by a white, succulent cup of sepals, which are fed on by various birds and lizards. [2] Flowers bloom from late spring to autumn, with it panicles occur usually in spring and summer. [2] Fruits are present from November to April, sometimes till June. [1]
The species was first described in 1786 by Georg Forster, as Coccoloba australis. It was transferred to the genus Muehlenbeckia in 1841 by Carl Meissner. [3] Some sources, including Plants of the World Online, regard Muehlenbeckia adpressa as a synonym of this species. [4] Others treat them as separate species. [5]
M. australis prefers places with plenty of sunlight and climbing support, such as forest edges, cliff faces, scrub and regenerating vegetation. With its climbing and rapid growth form, it is capable of engulfing roadside trees, and has benefited from cleared habitats created since human settlement began, and is sometimes the only native species present in such areas. [2]
M. australis is a host plant for numerous New Zealand endemic insects including Pyrgotis eudorana, Apoctena orthropis, Argosarchus horridus, and Clitarchus hookeri. [6] [7]
Jasmine is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultivated for the characteristic fragrance of their flowers. A number of unrelated plants contain the word "jasmine" in their common names.
Cordyline australis, commonly known as the cabbage tree, tī kōuka or cabbage-palm, is a widely branched monocot tree endemic to New Zealand.
Fallopia is a genus of about 12 species of flowering plants in the buckwheat family, often included in a wider treatment of the related genus Polygonum in the past, and previously including Reynoutria. The genus is native to temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, but species have been introduced elsewhere. The genus includes species forming vines and shrubs.
Arisaema triphyllum, the jack-in-the-pulpit, bog onion, brown dragon or Indian turnip, is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a corm. It is a highly variable species typically growing 30–65 centimetres (12–26 in) in height with three-part leaves and flowers contained in a spadix that is covered by a hood. It is native to eastern North America, occurring in moist woodlands and thickets from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, and south to southern Florida and Texas.
Ceiba speciosa, the floss silk tree, is a species of deciduous tree native to the tropical and subtropical forests of South America. It has several local common names, such as palo borracho or árbol del puente, samu'ũ or paineira. In Bolivia, it is called toborochi, meaning "tree of refuge" or "sheltering tree". It belongs to the same family as the baobab and the kapok. Another tree of the same genus, Ceiba chodatii, is often referred to by the same common names.
Dichondra is a small genus of flowering plants in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. They are prostrate, perennial, herbaceous plants, with creeping stems which take root readily at the leaf nodes. The flowers are white, greenish or yellowish, 2–3 mm diameter. Members of the genus are commonly known as ponysfoots and are native to tropical and cool temperate regions around the world.
Muehlenbeckia or maidenhair is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. It is native to the borders of the Pacific, including South and North America, Papua New Guinea and Australasia. It has been introduced elsewhere, including Europe. Species vary in their growth habits, many being vines or shrubs. In some environments, rampant species can become weedy and difficult to eradicate.
Araujia sericifera is a perennial vining plant in the genus Araujia, of the family Apocynaceae. The species was described in 1817 by the Portuguese botanist Félix Avelar Brotero. The synonym Araujia hortorum is in more frequent use in New Zealand. Its common names include moth plant, white bladderflower, common moth vine, cruel vine and false choko.
Muehlenbeckia complexa, commonly known as pōhuehue, although this name also applies to some other climbers such as Muehlenbeckia australis.
Muehlenbeckia astonii or shrubby tororaro is an endemic New Zealand shrub in the family Polygonaceae. It has distinctive small heart-shaped deciduous leaves amidst a tangle of wiry interlocking branches. Although common in cultivation around the world, it is extremely rare and threatened in the wild.
Muehlenbeckia platyclada, known as centipede plant, tapeworm plant or ribbonbush, is a species of plant in the knotweed family from New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It is also naturalized in other tropical regions, including Puerto Rico, India, Bolivia, Madagascar, Nicaragua and Pakistan.
Senecio angulatus, also known as creeping groundsel and Cape ivy, is a succulent flowering plant in the daisy family that is native to South Africa. Cape ivy is a scrambling and a twining herb that can become an aggressive weed once established, making it an invasive species. It has been naturalised in the Mediterranean Basin, where it is grown as an ornamental plant for its satiny foliage and sweet-scented flowers.
Declana floccosa, the forest semilooper or manuka moth is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is endemic to New Zealand. It was first described by Francis Walker in 1863 using specimens obtained from Colonel Bolton.
Muehlenbeckia adpressa, commonly known as climbing lignum, is a prostrate or climbing plant, native to Australia. It has thin red-brown stems up to 1 metre in length. The leaves are 1.5–6 centimetres (0.59–2.36 in) long and 1.5–3.5 centimetres (0.59–1.38 in) wide. It occurs in coastal areas of Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales.
Muehlenbeckia axillaris is a low evergreen shrub, forming wiry mats up to about 1 metre in diameter, native to New Zealand, and the Australian states of Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria. It has thin, red-brown stems, with glossy squarish to roundish leaves that are less than 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter and 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) thick. Flowers are inconspicuous, yellowish-white, 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) in diameter, and borne in groups of up to three in the axils. The fruit is black, shiny, and up to 3.5 mm (0.14 in) long, produced in late summer to fall.
Duma florulenta, commonly known as tangled lignum or often simply lignum, is a plant native to inland Australia. It is associated with wetland habitats, especially those in arid and semiarid regions subject to cycles of intermittent flooding and drying out. The Wiradjuri name for the plant is gweeargal, and the Walmajarri name is Kirinykiriny, or Kurinykuriny.
Muehlenbeckia ephedroides, the leafless pohuehue or leafless muehlenbeckia, is a prostrate or climbing plant, native to the North Island of New Zealand.
Clitarchus tepaki is a stick insect that belongs to the common New Zealand genus Clitarchus. It is endemic to the North Cape area of New Zealand, in particular Te Paki and the Karikari Peninsula.
Reynoutria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is native to eastern China, Eastern Asia and the Russian Far East, although species have been introduced to Europe and North America. Members of the genus, including R. japonica and its hybrid with R. sachalinensis, are highly invasive plants.
Duma is a genus of shrubby flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae, subfamily Polygonoideae. The genus was separated from Muehlenbeckia in 2011. The native range of the genus is Australia.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Muehlenbeckia australis . |