Byblis (plant)

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Byblis
ByblisLinifloraHabitus.JPG
Byblis liniflora
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Byblidaceae
Domin [1]
Genus: Byblis
Salisb.

Byblis ( /ˈbɪblɪs/ BIB-liss) is a small genus of carnivorous plants, sometimes termed the rainbow plants for the attractive appearance of their mucilage-covered leaves in bright sunshine. Native to Australia and New Guinea, [2] it is the only genus in the family Byblidaceae. The first species in the genus was described by the English botanist Richard Anthony Salisbury in 1808. Eight species are now recognised (see below).

Byblis species look very similar to Drosera and Drosophyllum , but are distinguished by their zygomorphic flowers, with five curved stamens off to one side of the pistil. These genera are in fact not closely related; modern classifications place Byblis in the Lamiales, while the sundews and Drosophyllum are now placed in the Caryophyllales.

Plant characteristics

All species of the genus form upright growth supported by a weak, fibrous root system. The genus can be divided into two groups or "complexes": The B. liniflora complex and the B. gigantea complex (see below).

Leaves

The leaves of all species are round in cross section and highly elongated, tapering at the end. The surface of the leaves is densely studded with glandular hairs which secrete a mucilaginous substance from their tip. These serve to attract small insects, which upon touching the sticky secretions are ensnared. Unless they are strong enough to escape, the insect prey either die of exhaustion or asphyxiate as the mucilage envelops them and clogs their spiracles. Unlike the sundews, however, Byblis can move neither their tentacles nor the leaves themselves to aid trapping or digestion. As a result, they are grouped among the "passive flypaper traps" along with Pinguicula , Drosophyllum , Roridula , Stylidium and Triphyophyllum peltatum .

Along with the stalked mucilaginous glands, the leaves are also equipped with sessile glands, which assumedly are responsible for the secretion of the digestive juices. Sessile glands are five to ten times as numerous as the stalked glands.

B. filifolia flower Byblis filifolia flora.jpg
B. filifolia flower

Flowers

Flowers in this genus are borne singly at the end of unbranching, leaf-like inflorescences which emerge from the leaf axils. The five-petaled flowers are generally purple to pale violet, though B. gigantea and B. filifolia can sometimes produce white flowers. Except for the self-fertile B. liniflora, all species require pollen from other individuals for fertilization. The pollen release of B. gigantea and B. lamellata is only triggered by the resonance frequency of the wings of a landing pollinator, helping ensure cross-pollination with other individuals. The flowers of Byblis start to bloom in early spring and last until late summer.

B. liniflora seed capsule Byblis liniflora capsule2.JPG
B. liniflora seed capsule

Fruit and seeds

Fertilized flowers mature to form an egg-shaped, two-parted seed capsule. As the seed capsule dries out it cracks open (dehisces), dropping the seed on the ground (see gravity dispersal). The black seeds are generally round and often bear webbed surface markings, although those of B. lamellata are strongly ridged (see ). The germination of many species is brought on by bush fires after the dry period; pyrogenic chemicals in the smoke are responsible for triggering germination.

Distribution and habitat

Distribution of the genus Byblis distribution.svg
Distribution of the genus

All Byblis species are native to Australia. B. gigantea and B. lamellata are endemic to the Perth region of southwest Australia, while the species making up the B. liniflora complex are found only in north Australia. The exception here is B. liniflora itself, whose distribution extends into southern Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Like many carnivorous plants, Byblis species usually grow in bogs and marshes. They generally prefer seasonally wet sandy soil in partial or direct sunlight with temperatures between ~ 5-40 °C (40-105 °F).

Environmental status

As native plants of Australia, all Byblis species are protected. Until the year 2000, they were also given international protection under CITES appendix II, but were removed from the list when Australia entered the CITES agreement. Since then trade of the genus has been unregulated outside of Australia. However, due to the sensitivity of the plant, interest in the genus has been restricted to a small portion of the carnivorous plant hobbyist community. The majority of plant material sold today is produced in cultivation, with the annual B. filifolia and B. liniflora being the most common. Most of the other species must be grown from seed, which is often collected from the wild for this purpose.

The West Australian species B. gigantea und B. lamellata are being threatened by habitat destruction for urban sprawl from cities such as Perth. Particularly damaging is the draining of wet habitats to produce arable land. B. gigantea is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species and is considered critically endangered.

Carnivorous or protocarnivorous

The status of the genus as a truly carnivorous plant has been repeatedly put into question. In their natural habitat, all species have been observed playing host to live bugs of the genus Setocoris , which nourished themselves by eating prey caught by the plants. Following this discovery it was assumed that, as with the genus Roridula , the plants do not actually digest their prey themselves, rather relying on the bugs to do that. The plants, it was reasoned, benefited by absorbing nutrients from the excrements of the bugs, either through their leaves or through the ground. An indirect digestion of these nutrients by a chitinase producing fungus was even proposed. It was not until 2005 that direct digestion of insect prey by enzymes secreted by the sessile glands of B. filifolia was proven. [3] Soon thereafter similar results were found with B. liniflora. These results clearly place this genus among the true carnivorous plants.

Systematics

Molecular genetics studies have placed the genus in the order Lamiales. While its placement within the order is still unclear, it is closely related to Martyniaceae, Lentibulariaceae as well as Gesneriaceae.

For a time, the genus Roridula was also assigned to the family Byblidaceae. Since that time, however, it has been placed into its own family, Roridulaceae.

Traditionally the genus was divided into only two species, namely B. gigantea and B. liniflora. Further species were described in the 1980s, particularly through the work of the Australian botanist Allen Lowrie. Eight species are currently recognised: [4]

Subdivision of the genus

Byblis lamellata in cultivation ByblisLamellata2.jpg
Byblis lamellata in cultivation

Byblis liniflora complex

The four species of this complex, B. liniflora, B. rorida, B. filifolia and B. aquatica, are annual herbaceous plants that reach a height of 15–50 cm (5.9–19.7 in) and a maximum leaf length of 4–15 cm (1.6–5.9 in). These species grow from seedlings to flowering plants in only a few months, setting seed and dying with the onset of the dry season. The original haploid chromosome count of this complex is x=8. The diploid number is therefore 2n=16, whereas the tetraploid species B. liniflora is 2n=32.

Byblis gigantea complex

The remaining two species, B. lamellata und B. gigantea, make up what is known as the B. gigantea complex. These perennial species are both endemic to Southwest Australia, and reach heights of 45–70 cm (18–28 in). Unlike the annual members of the B. liniflora complex, these species survive the dry season by dying back to an underground rhizome, out of which they emerge come fall. The leaves of this complex can reach 20 cm (7.9 in) in length. The base chromosome count of the complex is x=9; since both species are diploid, their chromosome count is 2n=18.

Paleobotany

In the year 2004 a single fossil of a seed, resembling that of members of the modern day B. liniflora complex, was discovered in south Australia dating from the middle of the Eocene epoch. The species was assigned to the Byblidaceae as a parataxon of the genus. [5] The sole specimen was unfortunately destroyed in a lab accident shortly after being photographed. [5] [6]

Etymology

The Latin generic name "Byblis" originates from a goddess from Greek mythology, of whom Ovid wrote in his Metamorphoses (IX, l. 454–664). Byblis, niece of Apollo, fell deeply in love with her twin brother Caunus. At his rejection of her advances, she let forth an endless stream of glistening tears, eventually literally transforming into a spring. The droplets lining the leaves of the Byblis are said to resemble those tears.

The English vernacular name - "rainbow plants" - also denotes the mucilaginous droplets which, under the right lighting conditions and viewing angle, sparkle in a rainbow of colors.

See also

Related Research Articles

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

Droseraceae is a family of carnivorous flowering plants, also known as the sundew family. It consists of approximately 180 species in three extant genera. Representatives of the Droseraceae are found on all continents except Antarctica.

<i>Drosophyllum</i> Genus of carnivorous plants

Drosophyllum is a genus of carnivorous plants containing the single species Drosophyllum lusitanicum, commonly known as Portuguese sundew or dewy pine. In appearance, it is similar to the related genus Drosera, and to the much more distantly related Byblis.

<i>Roridula</i> Insect-trapping shrublet from South Africa

Roridula is a genus of evergreen, insect-trapping shrubs, with two species, of about 1⅓–2 m. It is the only genus in the family Roridulaceae. It has thin, woody, shyly branching, upright, initially brown, later grey stems, with lance- to awl-shaped leaves crowded at their tips. The star-symmetrical flowers consist from the outside in of five, green or reddish, free sepals, alternating with five white, pink or purple, free petals. Further to the middle and opposite the sepals are five stamens with the anthers initially kinked down. These suddenly flip up if the nectar-containing swelling at its base is being touched. The center of the flower is occupied by a superior ovary. The leaves and sepals carry many sticky tentacles of different sizes, that trap insects. Roridula does not break down the insect proteins, but bugs of the genus Pameridea prey on the trapped insects. These later deposit their feces on the leaves, which take up nutrients from the droppings. The species can be found in the Western Cape province of South Africa. They are commonly known as dewstick or fly bush in English and vlieëbos or vlieëbossie in Afrikaans.

<i>Byblis aquatica</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Byblis aquatica is an insectivorous plant belonging to the genus Byblis, commonly known as the rainbow plants. It was described by Allen Lowrie and John Godfrey Conran in 1998, assigned to a group of annual north Australian species known as the "Byblis liniflora complex". It grows in semi-aquatic conditions and uses stalked mucilaginous glands covering its leaf surfaces to attract, catch, and digest insect prey to supplement the poor environmental nutrient supply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protocarnivorous plant</span> Carnivorous plant that can not digest prey

A protocarnivorous plant, according to some definitions, traps and kills insects or other animals but lacks the ability to either directly digest or absorb nutrients from its prey like a carnivorous plant. The morphological adaptations such as sticky trichomes or pitfall traps of protocarnivorous plants parallel the trap structures of confirmed carnivorous plants.

<i>Drosera ordensis</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Drosera ordensis is a species of sundew, native to Australia and part of the "petiolaris complex" of sundews making up the subgenus Lasiocephala. Compared to many petiolaris sundews, it has wide petioles, which are densely covered in silvery hairs. It usually forms rosettes 8 cm across, although plants up to 20 cm in diameter have been reported.

Genlisea margaretae is a carnivorous species in the genus Genlisea native to areas of Madagascar, Tanzania, and Zambia. It has pale bundles of root-like organs up to about 20 cm long under ground that attract, trap, and digest protozoans. These organs are subterranean leaves, which lack chlorophyll. It had been known to possess the smallest known genome of any flowering plant as of 2006, but was later surpassed by the related species Genlisea tuberosa.

<i>Byblis gigantea</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Byblis gigantea, commonly known as rainbow plant, is a carnivorous species of plant in the Byblidaceae family. It is endemic to Australia.

<i>Byblis liniflora</i> Species of plant

Byblis liniflora is a species of carnivorous plant in the family Byblidaceae. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.

<i>Byblis rorida</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Byblis rorida is a species of carnivorous plant in the Byblidaceae family. It is endemic to Australia.

Stylidium diceratum is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the genus Stylidium. The specific epithet diceratum is Greek for "two horns", referring to the two appendages that are present on the bend of the gynostemium. It is an annual plant that grows from 15 to 35 cm tall. The longer leaves are lanceolate and the shorter ones are spathulate, forming a basal rosettes around the stem. The leaves are around 5–8 mm long and 0.2-2.5 mm wide. Inflorescences are around 6–15 cm long and produce flowers that are orange with dark orange and pink veins and bloom from June to August in their native range. S. diceratum is only known from the type location, which is at creek crossings on the road to Beverley Springs in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Its habitat is recorded as being sandy soils on creek margins. It grows in the presence of S. ceratophorum, S. rubriscapum, Drosera caduca, D. paradoxa, Byblis liniflora, and Grevillea pteridifolia. S. diceratum is most closely related to S. longicornu, but it can be confused with S. ceratophorum, which also has an orange corolla but twice as large.

<i>Byblis lamellata</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Byblis lamellata is a carnivorous plant in the Byblidaceae family. It is endemic to Australia.

Byblis guehoi is a species of carnivorous plant in the genus Byblis. It is a compact species and is tetraploid. It was described in 2008 by Allen Lowrie and John Godfrey Conran. It is endemic to the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnivorous plant</span> Plants that consume animals

Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds. They still generate all of their energy from photosynthesis. They have adapted to grow in waterlogged sunny places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica, as well as many Pacific islands. In 1875, Charles Darwin published Insectivorous Plants, the first treatise to recognize the significance of carnivory in plants, describing years of painstaking research.

<i>Drosera falconeri</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Drosera falconeri is a carnivorous plant in the family of Droseraceae. It is endemic to the Northern Territory of Australia.

<i>Pinguicula</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Lentibulariaceae

Pinguicula, commonly known as butterworts, is a genus of carnivorous flowering plants in the family Lentibulariaceae. They use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they obtain from the environment. Of the roughly 80 currently known species, 13 are native to Europe, 9 to North America, and some to northern Asia. The largest number of species is in South and Central America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnivorous plants of Australia</span>

Australia has one of the world's richest carnivorous plant floras, with around 187 recognised species from 6 genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian pitcher plant</span> Carnivorous herbaceous plant

The Australian pitcher plant, also known as Albany pitcher plant, is the only species of plant in the Cephalotaceae family and Oxalidales order. It can be found exclusively in moist conditions in a small region in southwest Australia and is considered to be a carnivorous plant. Similar to the not related Nepenthes, it catches its victims with pitfall traps.

<i>Byblis pilbarana</i> Species of plant

Byblis pilbarana is a carnivorous species of plant in the family Byblidaceae. It is found in Western Australia.

References

Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent German-language Wikipedia article (retrieved 1 December 2006).

  1. Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009), "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III", Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161 (2): 105–121, doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x , hdl: 10654/18083
  2. "Byblis Salisb. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online.
  3. Hartmeyer, Irmgard und Siegfried: Byblis filifolia als echte Karnivore rehabilitiert, Das Taublatt (GFP), 53, 4-5, 2005
  4. Lowrie, A. (2013). Byblis. In: Carnivorous Plants of Australia Magnum Opus - Volume One . Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 205–237. ISBN   978-1-908787-11-8.
  5. 1 2 Conran, John G.; Christophel, David C. (2004). "A Fossil Byblidaceae Seed from Eocene South Australia". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 165 (4): 691–694. doi:10.1086/386555. hdl: 2440/1805 . S2CID   32159540.
  6. Givnish, Thomas J. (2015). "New evidence on the origin of carnivorous plants". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (1): 10–11. Bibcode:2015PNAS..112...10G. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1422278112 . PMC   4291624 . PMID   25538295.

Further reading