Tetratheca

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Tetratheca
Tetratheca hirsuta gnangarra.JPG
Tetratheca hirsuta
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Oxalidales
Family: Elaeocarpaceae
Genus: Tetratheca
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Species

See text

Tetratheca thymifolia Tetratheca thymifolia 01.jpg
Tetratheca thymifolia

Tetratheca is a genus of around 50 to 60 species of shrubs endemic to Australia. It is classified in the botanical family Elaeocarpaceae, now known to encompass the family Tremandraceae, which the genus originally belonged to. It occurs throughout extratropical Australia, and has been recorded in every mainland state except the Northern Territory. [1]

Contents

Origin and evolution

The origin of the genus is thought to be south-western Western Australia, radiating eastward. The distribution of Tetratheca is mainly across the temperate southern part of the continent. Most species are localised endemics and are highly disjunct from each other. Very few are widespread across Australia; none occurs in the Nullarbor Plain and only seven are found on both the western and the south-eastern sides. [2] (McPherson, 2008). The formation of the Nullarbor is thought to have created a barrier to dispersal between the east and west. [3]

It is estimated that the family Elaeocarpaceae is 120 million years old and Tetratheca estimated to be around 37 to 39 million years old, with major diversification over the Miocene and evolving much faster than their relatives, many of which are rainforest species. This coincides with the rapid radiation and diversification of other sclerophyllous groups. [4]

Species

Species include: [5]

Related Research Articles

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Leptospermum is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae commonly known as tea trees, although this name is sometimes also used for some species of Melaleuca. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the greatest diversity in the south of the continent, but some are native to other parts of the world, including New Zealand and Southeast Asia. Leptospermums all have five conspicuous petals and five groups of stamens which alternate with the petals. There is a single style in the centre of the flower and the fruit is a woody capsule.

Elaeocarpaceae Family of flowering plants

Elaeaocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants. The family contains approximately 615 species of trees and shrubs in 12 genera. The largest genera are Elaeocarpus, with about 350 species, and Sloanea, with about 120.

<i>Swainsona</i> Genus of legumes

Swainsona is a large genus of flowering plants native to Australasia. There are 85 species, all but one of which is endemic to Australia.

Tremandraceae

Tremandraceae R.Br. ex DC. is the name of a defunct family of flowering plants. It contained three genera: Platytheca, Tetratheca, and Tremandra. In 2006, a molecular phylogenetic study showed that Tremandraceae is embedded in Elaeocarpaceae. Recognizing Tremandraceae as a separate family would make Elaeocarpaceae paraphyletic.

<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>Bossiaea</i> Genus of legumes

Bossiaea is a genus of about 78 species of flowering plants in the pea family Fabaceae and is endemic to Australia. Plants in this genus often have stems and branches modified as cladodes, simple, often much reduced leaves, flowers with the upper two sepal lobes larger than the lower three, usually orange to yellow petals with reddish markings, and the fruit a more or less flattened pod.

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

Lasiopetalum, commonly known as velvet bushes, is a genus of about forty-five species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae, all endemic to Australia.

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

Comesperma is a genus of shrubs, herbs and lianas in the family Polygalaceae. The genus is endemic to Australia. It was defined by the French botanist Jacques Labillardière in his 1806 work Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek words come ("hair") and sperma ("seed"), and relates to the seeds bearing tufts of hair. The genus is distributed over southern Australia, particularly in the southwest of Western Australia, where 19 species are found. 24 species have been described.

<i>Tetratheca pilosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Tetratheca pilosa is a flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae, endemic to Australia. It is a small shrub found in dry sclerophyll forests, open heathlands and woodlands of Australia. It was first recorded in 1805 by French botanist Jacques Labillardière.

Tetratheca similis is a species of plant in the quandong family that is endemic to Australia.

Tetratheca retrorsa is a species of plant in the quandong family that is endemic to Australia.

Tetratheca remota is a species of plant in the quandong family that is endemic to Australia.

Tetratheca paucifolia is a species of plant in the quandong family that is endemic to Australia.

Tetratheca parvifolia is a species of plant in the quandong family that is endemic to Australia.

Tetratheca fasciculata, also known as Cronin's Tetratheca, is an extinct species of plant in the quandong family that was endemic to Australia.

Tetratheca rupicola is a species of plant in the quandong family that is endemic to Australia.

<i>Tetratheca neglecta</i> Species of flowering plant

Tetratheca neglecta is a species of plant in the quandong family that is endemic to Australia.

Tetratheca labillardierei is a species of plant in the quandong family that is endemic to Australia.

Tetratheca insularis is a species of plant in the quandong family that is endemic to Australia.

Tetratheca halmaturina, also known as curly pink-bells, is a species of plant in the quandong family that is endemic to Australia.

References

  1. ↑ Elliot, Rodger W.; Jones, David L.; Blake, Trevor (2010). Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation: Volume 9 – Sp-Z. Port Melbourne: Lothian Press. pp. 227, 233–34. ISBN   978-0-7344-0974-4.
  2. ↑ McPherson, H (2008). Crayn, D., Gross, C., Rossetta, M. "Phylogentics and Evolutionary Dynamics of 'Tetratheca' (Elaeocarpaceae)". University of New England. hdl:1959.11/2609.
  3. ↑ Thompson, Joy (10 December 1976). "A revision of the genus Tetratheca (Tremandraceae)". Telopea. 1 (3): 139–215. doi: 10.7751/telopea19763301 . ISSN   0312-9764.
  4. ↑ Crayn, D.M; Rossetto, M; Maynard, D. J (2006). "Molecular phylogeny and dating reveals an Oligo-Miocene radiation of dry-adapted shrubs (former Tremandraceae) from rainforest tree progenitors (Elaeocarpaceae) in Australia". American Journal of Botany. 93 (9): 1328–42. doi: 10.3732/ajb.93.9.1328 . PMID   21642198.
  5. ↑ "Tetratheca". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. Retrieved 14 September 2008.


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