Trochocarpa cunninghamii

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Trochocarpa cunninghamii
Trochocarpacunninghamii Feb2020 MtField.jpg
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: Trochocarpa
Species:
T. cunninghamii
Binomial name
Trochocarpa cunninghamii
DistributionTrochocarpa cunninghamii.png
Occurrence records from Atlas of Living Australia [2]
Synonyms [1]
  • Decaspora cunninghamiDC. orth. var.
  • Decaspora cunninghamiiDC.
  • Trochocarpa disticha var. cunninghami F.Muell. orth. var.
  • Trochocarpa disticha var. cunninghamii(DC.) Benth.

Trochocarpa cunninghamii is a flowering plant species of the family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is commonly referred to as straggling purpleberry due to its round flattened mauve drupe fruits. [3] It is a woody shrub usually found in the understorey of rainforests and subalpine forests in the Central Plateau and western Tasmania.

Contents

Description

Trochocarpa cunninghamii is a low, scrambling prostrate shrub with reddish new growth. [3] Its leaves are at alternate at right angles to the stem, 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) long, with 5-7 veins visible from the underside of the leaf, the lower surface, with a lighter shade of green. [3] [4] In summer, pink and white tubular flowers are borne in dangling spikes near the end of branches. [3] The purplish blue-black fruit is present year-round and is described as round flattened mauve drupes about 10 mm (0.39 in) in diameter. [3] [5]

The foliage of this species can be mistaken for T. gunnii as it has a similar appearance, [4] but T. cunninghamii can be easily distinguished from T. gunnii by its growth habit. T. gunnii is an erect, dense to open shrub to small tree 3–6 m (10–20 ft) high and 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in) wide, whereas T. cunninghamii has a low scrambling habit, 0.2–1.5 m (8 in – 4 ft 11 in) high and 0.5–2 m (1 ft 8 in – 6 ft 7 in) wide. [3] [5]

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1839 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, who gave it the name Decaspora cunninghami in his Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis , [6] [7] and in 1963 was transferred to the genus, Trochocarpa as T. cunninghamii by Winifred Curtis. [8] [9] The specific epithet (cunninghamii) honours English botanist Allan Cunningham, who circumnavigated Australia between 1816 and 1839 to collect plants. [10]

Distribution and habitat

Trochocarpa cunninghamii is found only in subalpine forests and rainforest in Tasmania. [2] [3] It is more commonly found at high altitudes than T. gunnii. [4] Trochocarpa disticha also closely resembles T. cunninghamii, however T. disticha is a large shrub with larger leaves, restricted to far southeast Tasmania and regarded as uncommon. [4]

Ecology

The hairy-covered, red petal tube of T. cunninghamii may exclude insect access, but is attractive to birds. [11]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Trochocarpa cunninghamii". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Trochocarpa cunninghamii". bie.ala.org.au. Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Howells, Christine (2012). Tasmania's Natural Flora. Hobart: Australian Plants Society Tasmania Incorporated. ISBN   9780909830663.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Key to Tasmanian Dicots". www.utas.edu.au. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  5. 1 2 "Trochocarpa cunninghamii". Alpine Garden Society. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  6. ↑ "Decaspora cunninghami". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  7. ↑ de Candolle, Augustin P. (1839). Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis. Paris: Sumptibus Sociorum Treuttel et Würtz. p. 758. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  8. ↑ "Trochocarpa cunninghamii". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  9. ↑ Curtis, W.M. (1963), Angiospermae: Lythraceae to Epacridaceae. The Student's Flora of Tasmania 2: 431, 463
  10. ↑ George, Alex; Sharr, Francis (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (4th ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 175. ISBN   9780958034180.
  11. ↑ Johnson, Karen A. (July 2013). "Are there pollination syndromes in the Australian epacrids (Ericaceae: Styphelioideae)? A novel statistical method to identify key floral traits per syndrome". Annals of Botany. 112 (1): 141–149. doi:10.1093/aob/mct105. ISSN   0305-7364. PMC   3690994 . PMID   23681546.
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