Trochocarpa thymifolia

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Trochocarpa thymifolia
Pressed Trochocarpa thymifolia.jpg
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. thymifolia
Binomial name
Trochocarpa thymifolia
Synonyms [1]
  • Decaspora thymifoliaR.Br.
  • Decaspora oxycoccoides A.Cunn. ex DC.

Trochocarpa thymifolia is a species of flowering plant from the family Ericacae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a widespread alpine and subalpine shrub with small leaves, pink to red flowers and blue to purple fruit. Originally described by botanist Robert Brown in 1810, it is a widespread Tasmanian endemic that inhabits the state's mountain regions.

Contents

Flowers in Mount Field National Park Trochocarpa thymifolia.jpg
Flowers in Mount Field National Park

Description

Mature plants form erect, bushy shrubs growing to around 1m in height. Leaves are small (2–4 mm long), densely-packed, ovate to elliptic in shape and are alternate in arrangement. The succulent leaves are dark green, with a red tinge around the margins and are slightly lighter green on the underside. Parallel venation is clear on the abaxial surface (underside) of the leaf which is a distinguishing characteristic of the Ericaceae family. [2] The tubular flowers possess 5 lobes, of about 4mm in length and range from pink to red in colour. Inflorescences form a dense cluster of drooping terminal spikes that are 1.5 cm long with the yellow filaments of the stamens being prominent sitting just outside of the floral tube. [3] Fruits are spherical, fleshy and present in a blue to purple/mauve colour at approximately 8 mm in diameter. [4] Fruits and flowers typically occur simultaneously, creating stunning displays of contrasting colours and textures alongside the neat foliage. [5]

Taxonomy

This taxon was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown who gave it the name Diaspora thymifolia in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen . [6] [7] In 1824, Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel changed the name to Trochocapra thymifolia in Systema Vegetabilium . [8] [9] The specific epithet (thymifolia) means "thyme-leaved". [10]

Species differentiation

Trochocarpa thymifolia is distinguished from the other three rainforest species of Trochocarpa occurring in Tasmania by its leaves that are only 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long. [11]

Habitat and distribution

Distribution of Trochocarpa thymifolia from Atlas of Living Australia. Distribution of Trochocarpa thymifolia from Atlas of Living Australia.png
Distribution of Trochocarpa thymifolia from Atlas of Living Australia.

Trochocarpa thymifolia is widespread in Tasmania, often found in alpine heaths, open subalpine forests woodlands and occasionally inhabiting sites that are more exposed amidst dolerite boulders. [12] The species favours areas that have acidic soils, are well drained and moist in its environment.

The species is widespread around the state clustering in alpine zones above the tree line. This range in altitude varies across the state from 750m in the southwest to 1400m in the northeast. [13] Populations are largely located at Mount Field, Mount Wellington (Kunanyi), Tasman and Southwest National Parks in the south and Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair, Walls of Jerusalem and Ben Lomond National Parks in the north. [5] [12]

Related Research Articles

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen is book dealing with the flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as Prodromus Flora Novae Hollandiae, or by its standard botanical abbreviation Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holland., it was the first attempt at a survey of the Australian flora. It described over 2040 species, over half of which were published for the first time.

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

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

Epacris serpyllifoliais a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a small low-lying or weakly erect shrub with heart-shaped to broadly egg-shaped leaves and tube-shaped white flowers crowded in upper leaf axils.

<i>Pimelea sericea</i> Species of shrub

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<i>Pterostylis parviflora</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Plantago triantha</i> Species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae

Plantago triantha is an annual plant of the family Plantaginaceae that is found in both Tasmania and the Auckland Islands.

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<i>Goodenia geniculata</i> Species of plant

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<i>Westringia angustifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Lobelia browniana</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Styphelia acuminata</i> Species of plant

Styphelia acuminata is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the Northern Territory. It is a compact, erect shrub with narrowly elliptic or lance-shaped leaves and small groups of white or cream-coloured flowers.

Epacris exserta , commonly known as South Esk heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family, Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is an erect shrub with narrowly lance-shaped to elliptic leaves and tube-shaped, white flowers clustered near the ends of the branches.

<i>Styphelia biflora</i> Species of shrub

Styphelia biflora is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect to spreading shrub with hairy branchlets, oblong leaves and small white flowers.

<i>Styphelia cuspidata</i> Species of shrub

Styphelia cuspidata is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to the central Queensland coast. It is a shrub with densely hairy young branchlets, egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and white, bell-shaped flowers that are bearded inside.

<i>Styphelia deformis</i> Species of plant

Styphelia deformis is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern coastal Australia. It is a bushy shrub with narrowly egg-shaped leaves, and white, tube-shaped flowers.

Pimelea cinerea is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a slender shrub with more or less elliptic leaves, and heads of white flowers surrounded by leaves.

Styphelia compacta is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a widely spreading or prostrate, much-branched shrub with egg-shaped leaves or lance-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and red flowers arranged in leaf axils.

References

  1. 1 2 "Trochocarpa thymifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  2. "Species Information: Trochocarpa thymifolia". www.utas.edu.au. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  3. "Key to Tasmanian Dicots". www.utas.edu.au. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  4. "Trochocarpa thymifolia". Alpine Garden Society. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  5. 1 2 Gibbs, L.S. (1920). "Notes on the Phytogeography and Flora of the Mountain Summit Plateaux of Tasmania". Journal of Ecology. British Ecology Society. 8 (2): 89–117. doi:10.2307/2255528. JSTOR   2255528.
  6. "Diaspora thymifolia". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  7. Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et insulae Van-Diemen, exhibens characteres plantarum quas annis 1802-1805. p. 548. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  8. "Trochocarpa thymifolia". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  9. Sprengel, Kurt P.J. (1824). Systema Vegetabilium. p. 660. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  10. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 324. ISBN   9780958034180.
  11. "Key to Tasmanian Dicots". www.utas.edu.au. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  12. 1 2 "Trochocarpa thymifolia". Australian Plants Society Tasmania inc. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  13. Kirckpatrick, J.B (1982). "Phytogeographical analysis of Tasmanian alpine floras". Journal of Biogeography. 9: 255–271 via Google Scholar.