Richea pandanifolia

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Richea pandanifolia
R. pandanifolia.png
Richea pandanifolia in Mount Field National Park
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Richea
Species:
R. pandanifolia
Binomial name
Richea pandanifolia
Synonyms

Cystanthe pandanifolia(Hook.f.) Kuntze

Richea pandanifolia, the pandani or giant grass tree, is a distinctive endemic Tasmanian angiosperm. It is dicot of the family Ericaceae [1] and is found in central, western and south west Tasmania. [2] It is a favourite among hikers and nature lovers.

Contents

Description

Inflorescence at leaf axis Pani flowers.png
Inflorescence at leaf axis
Persistent leaves Pani leaves.png
Persistent leaves

Richea pandanifolia can be described as an erect tree or shrub. [2] It grows from 2 to 12 metres (6 ft 7 in to 39 ft 4 in) in height. [3] While it usually grows from just one stem, it can sometimes be branched. This branching occurs in the lowland subspecies as well as in damaged alpine plants. [2]

The species has strap-like leaves that taper to points and can grow up to 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) long. [2] These are dense and form from terminus branches. As the leaves age they are persistent, meaning that they remain on the plant. Young leaves are green in colour but as they age they become a greyish brown. [1] The margins of these leaves are serrated and can cut human skin.[ citation needed ]

Inflorescences emerge from the leaf axils [2] on structures called panicles (branched inflorescence) which can grow up to 25 centimetres (10 in) long. Their flowers can be either white of deep pink in colour. [3]

Taxonomy

The first European description of this plant was by botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker in his 1844 publication The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M. discovery ships Erebus and Terror. I. Flora Antarctica. In this publication Hooke named the species "Richea pandanifolia". [4] In 1891, Otto Kuntze transferred it to the genus Cystanthe . [5]

There are two subspecies:

Richea pandanifolia can hybridise with Richea scoparia to make R. × curtisiae. [2]

Richea pandanifolia is sometimes confused with Dracophyllum milliganii . R. pandanifolia can be distinguished from this rare species as D. milliganii has terminal inflorescence whereas R. pandanifolia 's inflorescence is in the leaf axis. R. pandanifolia also has serrated leaf margins whereas D. milliganii has smooth leaf margins. [2]

Distribution and habitat

Richea pandanifolia distribution R. Pandanifolia distribution.png
Richea pandanifolia distribution

Richea pandanifolia is endemic to Tasmania; it grows in alpine areas in central, western and southern Tasmania, and in the rainforests of the south-west. [2]

It can be found in deciduous heath, coniferous heath, alpine sedge land and heath in the central and western mountains. It is also found in rain forests where it is more common as a tree. [1]

Diversity and endemism

Richea pandanifolia is endemic to Tasmania, as are nine of the 11 species in the genus Richea .[ citation needed ]

Two theories may explain the diversity of Richea species in Tasmania. One proposes that the diversity in endemic Tasmanian Richea species could be due to them being the relics of Gondwanan fragmentation. The other theory proposes that the diversity is the result of speciation subsequent to the breaking up of Gondwana. [6] This unusual display of endemism can be explained in part as Richea is a genus of Gondwanan origin. Since the break-up of Gondwana, mainland Australia has become inhospitable for many Gondwanan species and Tasmania has become a refuge for many genera that used to thrive on the supercontinent. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

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The Tasmanian temperate rain forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in western Tasmania. The ecoregion is part of the Australasian realm, which includes Tasmania and Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and adjacent islands.

<i>Diselma</i> Genus of conifers

Diselma archeri is a species of plant of the family Cupressaceae and the sole species in the genus Diselma. It is endemic to the alpine regions of Tasmania's southwest and Central Highlands, on the western coast ranges and Lake St. Clair. It is a monotypic genus restricted to high altitude rainforest and moist alpine heathland. Its distribution mirrors very closely that of other endemic Tasmanian conifers Microcachrys tetragona and Pherosphaera hookeriana.

<i>Anodopetalum</i> Genus of flowering plants

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<i>Athrotaxis cupressoides</i> Species of conifer

Athrotaxis cupressoides, commonly known as pencil pine, despite being a species of the family Cupressaceae and not a member of the pine family. Found either as an erect shrub or as a tree, this species is endemic to Tasmania, Australia. Trees can live for upwards of 1000 years, sustaining a very slow growth rate of approximately 12 mm in diameter per year.

<i>Richea</i> Genus of flowering plants

Richea is a genus of 11 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. Nine of the species are endemic to Tasmania and the other two are endemic to the south-east of the Australian mainland.

<i>Richea scoparia</i> Species of flowering plant

Richea scoparia is a species of plant endemic to Tasmania. The genus Richea, forms part of the Ericaceae family, which are commonly heath-like shrubs. The name refers to the erect bushy growth habit, described as a broom-like shrub, most commonly referred to as the honey bush or simply scoparia to many bushwalkers.

<i>Dracophyllum milliganii</i> Species of flowering plant

Dracophyllum milliganii is a species of angiosperm in the family Ericaceae and the sub-family Epacridoideae. It is a distinctive alpine shrub, endemic to western Tasmania.

<i>Archeria serpyllifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Archeria serpyllifolia is a dense, compact, low growing shrub, that is endemic to Tasmania, Australia, inhabiting the undisturbed alpine areas of southern and south-west Tasmania. This plant is commonly referred to by Australasian naturalists as thyme archeria.

<i>Orites revolutus</i> Species of plant in the family Proteaceae endemic to Tasmania

Orites revolutus, also known as narrow-leaf orites, is a Tasmanian endemic plant species in the family Proteaceae. Scottish botanist Robert Brown formally described the species in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London in 1810 from a specimen collected at Lake St Clair. Abundant in alpine and subalpine heath, it is a small to medium shrub 0.5 to 1.5 m tall, with relatively small, blunt leaves with strongly revolute margins. The white flowers grow on terminal spikes during summer. Being proteaceaous, O. revolutus is likely to provide a substantial food source for nectivorous animal species within its range.

<i>Richea sprengelioides</i> Species of flowering plant

Richea sprengelioides is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae. It is one of the 11 species within the genus Richea that are endemic to Australia, of which 9 are found only in Tasmania.

Alpine vegetation refers to the zone of vegetation between the altitudinal limit for tree growth and the nival zone. Alpine zones in Tasmania can be difficult to classify owing to Tasmania's maritime climate limiting snow lie to short periods and the presence of a tree line that is not clearly defined.

<i>Richea gunnii</i> Species of flowering plant

Richea gunnii, the bog candleheath or Gunns richea, is an endemic Tasmanian angiosperm. It is a dicot of the family Ericaceae and is found in Central, Western and North-east Tasmania.

<i>Orites diversifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Orites diversifolia (=diversifolius), commonly known as variable orites, is a member of the family Proteaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. The common name stems from the variable form of the leaves, which range from entire and linear to serrated and ovate. It is a common shrub in lowland rainforest, subalpine woodland and scrub.

<i>Orites acicularis</i> Species of plant in the family Proteaceae endemic to Tasmania, Australia

Orites acicularis, commonly known as yellow bush, is an angiosperm endemic to Tasmania, Australia and is a member of the genus Orites within the family Proteaceae. The species was first described in 1810 by Scottish botanist Robert Brown in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London.

<i>Xyris marginata</i> Species of yelloweyed grass

Xyris marginata, commonly known as alpine yellow eye, is a monocot in the family Xyridaceae which is endemic to King Island (Tasmania) and Tasmania, commonly growing in button grass moorlands, at altitudes of up to 1070 meters (3,510.5 ft) above sea level. It was first collected by German-Australian botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1875.

<i>Abrotanella scapigera</i> Species of plant

Abrotanella scapigera is an endemic angiosperm of Tasmania, Australia. It is a member of the family Asteraceae, commonly found in alpine regions of northwest and south-central Tasmania. This species is named after its characteristic sparsely leaved flowering stem that distinguishes it from the other 18 species of the Genus.

<i>Olearia ledifolia</i> Species of shrub

Olearia ledifolia, commonly known as rock daisy bush, is a species of flowering plant of the family Asteraceae. It is endemic to Tasmania and found at higher altitudes where it grows as a low, compact bush with tough, leathery leaves and small white and yellow daisy-like "flowers" in summer.

<i>Ewartia meredithiae</i> Tasmanian endemic plant species

Ewartia meredithiae, commonly known as the rusty cushion plant, is a Tasmanian endemic cushion plant species. Out of the four species in Australia from this small genus, Tasmania has three, all of which are low growing, alpine species.

<i>Richea <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> curtisiae</i> Species of flowering plants

Richea × curtisiae, commonly known as Curtis's candle heath, is a hybrid species of plant endemic to Tasmania. It belongs to the genus Richea, which forms part of the Ericaceae family, commonly known as the heath family.

<i>Richea alpina</i> Species of flowering plants

Richea alpina, known as short candleheath, is a species of heath endemic to Tasmania, occurring in the mountains of the southwest. It is morphologically similar to the hybrid species Richea curtisiae which usually occurs after disturbance in the west and central mountains.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kirkpatrick, Jamie (1997). Alpine Tasmania An Illustraited Guide to the Flora and Vegetation. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 33.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jordan, Greg. "Key to Tasmanian Dicots". Key to Tasmanian Dicots. University of Tasmania. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  3. 1 2 "Richea pandanifolia". Australian Native Plants Society (Australia). Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  4. Hooker, Joseph D. The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M. discovery ships Erebus and Terror in the Years 1839-1843. 1844. volume 1. page 50.
  5. "Giant Grass Tree | Atlas of Living Australia". The Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  6. Reid, Hill, Brown, Hovenden, James, Robert, Michael, Mark (2005). Vegetation of Tasmania. Tasmania: Australian Biological Resources Study. p. 108.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. Reid, Hill, Brown, Hovenden, James, Robert, Michael, Mark (2005). Vegetation of Tasmania. Tasmania: Australian Biological Resources Study. p. 92.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)