Tetragonia implexicoma

Last updated

Tetragonia implexicoma
Tetragonia implexicoma (7596767522).jpg
Tetragonia implexicoma
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Aizoaceae
Genus: Tetragonia
Species:
T. implexicoma
Binomial name
Tetragonia implexicoma
Synonyms

Tetragonia implexicoma, commonly known as bower spinach, is a species of plant in the Aizoaceae, or ice-plant family. A similar species is Tetragonia tetragonioides , however this species has larger leaves and a shorter flowering time. [1]

Contents

Distribution and habitat

Bower spinach is found mainly in coastal regions of New Zealand and southern Australia as well as on many nearby island groups. It occupies a variety of habitats from sand and shingle beaches through coastal woodland, shrubland and grassland, and as exposed, salt-pruned vegetation on cliffs and stacks. It may also be found well inland, in farmland where it is grown in barberry hedges, or on calcareous sandstone or limestone outcrops in dense forest. [2]

Tetragonia implexicoma as a groundcover. Located on beach foredune in Carrum. Tetragonia implexicoma habit.jpg
Tetragonia implexicoma as a groundcover. Located on beach foredune in Carrum.

Description

Bower spinach is a scrambling subshrub that forms dense leafy patches of up to 4 metres (13 ft). The stems are long and trailing, often succulent and coloured red or pink when young, maturing to dark green to brown-black and becoming woody. The leaves are alternate, clustered and semi-succulent. Leaves are rhombic to angular-ovate, sometimes bearing coarse hairs when young. The yellow flowers are solitary, strongly scented and have 12-20 stamens; 2 styles. Flowering August to November. The fruits are 5–8 millimetres (0.20–0.31 in) long, pink to dark red, succulent berries which are eaten by birds and lizards. [3] [2] [4] It is being planted on Phillip Island as a fire retardant plant. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aizoaceae</span> Family of dicotyledonous flowering plants

The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing 135 genera and about 1800 species. Several genera are commonly known as 'ice plants' or 'carpet weeds'. The Aizoaceae are also referred to as vygies in South Africa and New Zealand. Some of the unusual Southern African genera—such as Conophytum, Lithops, Titanopsis and Pleiospilos —resemble gemstones, rocks or pebbles, and are sometimes referred to as 'living stones' or 'mesembs'.

<i>Claytonia perfoliata</i> Species of edible flowering plant

Claytonia perfoliata, commonly known as miner's lettuce, rooreh, Indian lettuce, or winter purslane, is a flowering plant in the family Montiaceae. It is an edible, fleshy, herbaceous, annual plant native to the western mountain and coastal regions of North America.

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

Tetragonia is a genus of 51 species of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae, native to temperate and subtropical regions mostly of the Southern Hemisphere, in New Zealand, Australia, southern and eastern Africa, and western South America, and eastern Asia.

<i>Basella alba</i> Species of edible plant

Basella alba is an edible perennial vine in the family Basellaceae. It is found in tropical Asia and Africa where it is widely used as a leaf vegetable. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and New Guinea. It is naturalized in China, tropical Africa, Brazil, Belize, Colombia, the West Indies, Fiji and French Polynesia.

<i>Ribes sanguineum</i> Species of flowering plant in the gooseberry family Grossulariaceae

Ribes sanguineum, the flowering currant, redflower currant, red-flowering currant, or red currant is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Grossulariaceae, native to the western United States and Canada.

<i>Tetragonia tetragonioides</i> Species of plant

Tetragonia tetragonioides, commonly called New Zealand spinach, Warrigal greens and other local names, is a flowering plant in the fig-marigold family (Aizoaceae). It is often cultivated as a leafy vegetable.

<i>Hakea laurina</i> Species of plant in the family Proteaceae endemic to Western Australia

Hakea laurina is shrub or small tree commonly known as kodjet or pin-cushion hakea and is endemic to Western Australia. The Noongar name for the plant is kodjet or kojet. It has red and cream conspicuous globular flowers and lance shaped leaves.

<i>Muehlenbeckia complexa</i> Species of flowering plant

Muehlenbeckia complexa is a plant commonly known as pohuehue, although this name also applies to some other climbers such as Muehlenbeckia australis.

<i>Echium candicans</i> Species of flowering plant

Echium candicans, the 'Pride of Madeira', is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, and genus Echium, native to the island of Madeira. It is a large herbaceous perennial subshrub, growing to 1.5–2.5 m.

<i>Haemanthus crispus</i> Species of flowering plant

Haemanthus crispus is a South African bulbous geophyte in the genus Haemanthus and occurring in Namaqualand which lies in the winter rainfall region. It is a common species and is found from Steinkopf to the Olifants River, growing from the coastal flats eastwards onto the stony, lower slopes of the first terrace, usually in heavy soils and often in the shade of low succulent shrubs.

<i>Dudleya pulverulenta</i> Species of succulent plant found in the U.S. and Mexico

Dudleya pulverulenta is a species of perennial succulent plant known by the common names chalk lettuce, chalk dudleya, and chalk liveforever. It is one of the largest Dudleya, with a silvery, waxy rosette that may greatly contrast with its habitat. It is also regarded as one of the most distinctive members of the Dudleya, with one of the most specialized inflorescences in the genus, adapted to hummingbird pollination through its red pendent flowers, the longest corolla, and the highest nectar output. Dudleya pulverulenta has the largest range of all Dudleya, over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi), being found from southern Monterey County in California to the Sierra de San Borja in southern Baja California. It is closely related to Dudleya arizonica, a smaller desert species that tends to lack the specialized floral traits, and Dudleya anthonyi, which differs in a few morphological traits and is restricted to the San Quintín Volcanic Field.

<i>Malva preissiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Malva preissiana, the Australian hollyhock or native hollyhock, is a herbaceous perennial in the family Malvaceae, found in all Australian states.

<i>Tetragonia decumbens</i> Species of succulent

Tetragonia decumbens is a coastal shrub, native to southern Africa.

<i>Pachycormus discolor</i> Species of flowering plant

Pachycormus is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the cashew family commonly known as the Baja elephant tree, torote blanco, or copalquín. The single species Pachycormus discolor is endemic to the Baja California peninsula, with three varieties. This sarcocaulescent tree or shrub is characterized by its unique gnarled growth habit, skin-like exfoliating bark, and succulent nature, whose appearance has been colorfully described as "the proboscis of an elephant holding a nosegay," a "huge radish protruding from the ground," or "grotesque resemblances of the flexed limbs of a corpulent human being." This drought-deciduous species spends most of the year dormant, but following rains pinnate green leaves emerge, and in the late spring to summer the leaves yellow, fall, and give way to bright red, cream, or pink flowers that give it a striking appearance in bloom.

<i>Coprosma repens</i> Species of flowering plant

Coprosma repens is a species of flowering shrub or small tree of the genus Coprosma, in the family Rubiaceae, native to New Zealand. Common names include taupata, tree bedstraw, mirror bush, looking-glass bush, New Zealand laurel and shiny leaf.

<i>Inocarpus fagifer</i> Species of plant

Inocarpus fagifer, commonly known as the Tahitian chestnut or Polynesian chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Faboideae of the legume family, Fabaceae. The tree has a wide range in the tropics of the south-west Pacific and south-east Asian regions, and a history of traditional use by the peoples of Polynesia and Melanesia. It is the only edible and culturally important member of the genus Inocarpus.

<i>Amyema preissii</i> Species of plant

Amyema preissii, commonly known as wireleaf mistletoe, is a species of mistletoe, an epiphytic, hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae. It is native to Australia where it has been recorded from all mainland states. The flowers are red and up to 26 mm long. The fruits are white or pink, globose and 8–10 mm in diameter. Its habitat is sclerophyll forest and woodland where it is often found on wattles. On Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula its hosts include coast wirilda, golden wattle and drooping sheoak. Its sticky seeds are eaten and dispersed by mistletoebirds.

<i>Bossiaea cinerea</i> Species of plant

Bossiaea cinerea, commonly known as showy bossiaea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is an erect or spreading shrub with trowel-shaped, triangular, egg-shaped or lance-shaped leaves with a sharply-pointed tip and golden yellow and red to purplish-brown flowers.

<i>Dudleya ingens</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya ingens is a species of perennial succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae commonly known as the rock liveforever or Baja liveforever. A relatively large member of the genus Dudleya, this species has long green succulent leaves, and in April to June is characterized by pale yellow to white pink-tinged flowers topping tall, reddish inflorescences. It has a stem clothed densely with old, leathery leaves, and the inflorescence may be nodding, with the floral branches bearing the flowers tending to unfurl like the fronds of a fern. It is similar in appearance to Dudleya brittonii, but differs in range and chromosome number. This species is endemic to the state of Baja California in Mexico, being found from Santo Tomás to the southern coast of the state.

<i>Disphyma papillatum</i> Species of succulent

Disphyma papillatum, commonly known as Chatham Island ice plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Aizoaceae and is endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand. It is a succulent, prostrate herb with flattened, pimply, trailing stems, leaves that are triangular in cross-section, and white to pink, dark blue or purple daisy-like flowers.

References

  1. Scott, Rob; Blake, Neil; Campbell, Jeannie; Evans, Doug; Williams, Nicholas (2002). Indigenous Plants of the Sandbelt. St Kilda: Earthcare. p. 83. ISBN   0-9581009-0-X.
  2. 1 2 "Tetragonia implexicoma". Flora details. NZ Plant Conservation Network. 2011-10-24. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  3. Boyce, Lauran; Buckeridge, John (2018). The terrestrial plants of the Rickett's Point Urban Sanctuary : Beaumaris Vic 3193. [Beaumaris, Victoria]. p. 90. ISBN   978-1760019716.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Longmore, Sue; Smithyman, Steve & Crawley, Matt (2010). Coastal Plants of the Bellarine Peninsula. Bellarine Catchment Network.
  5. "The death of one little penguin has conservationists worried about the future of the world's largest colony". ABC News. 2023-12-18. Retrieved 2024-02-08.