Trithuria lanterna is a species of plant in the family Hydatellaceae endemic to Australia.[3]

Trithuria lanterna
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Order: Nymphaeales
Family: Hydatellaceae
Genus: Trithuria
Species:
T. lanterna
Binomial name
Trithuria lanterna
Trithuria lanterna is endemic to Australia[3]

Description

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Vegetative characteristics

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Trithuria lanterna is a 10 mm tall and 30 mm wide,[4] annual herb[5][6] with very short stems bearing fibrous roots and basal, linear,[5] 5–18 mm long, and 0.8 wide leaves.[5][7] It often displays red colouration.[5]

Generative characteristics

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It is a monoecious species with bisexual reproductive units ("flowers").[6] The several, sessile[5] reproductive units have 2–4[6] lanceolate, 2–3 mm long involucral bracts,[5] 1–2 stamens with 0.6–1.0 mm long anthers attached to[6] up to 1.5 mm long filaments, as well as 6-20 carpels. The ovoid-trigonous, 0.4 mm long, and 0.2 mm wide fruit with three prominent ribs is indehiscent,[5] or at least in one case dehiscent.[6] The ovoid, 0.3 mm long, translucent seed with a dark apex[5] is smooth.[5][6] Flowering occurs from April to June.[7][8]

Distribution

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It is native to the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia.[3]

Taxonomy

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It was published by David Alan Cooke in 1981.[3][5] The type specimen was collected by R.L. Specht on Bickerton Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria, South Bay, Northern Territory, Australia on the 14th of June 1948.[5][6] It is placed in Trithuria sect. Hamannia.[9]

Etymology

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The specific epithet lanterna, from the Latin lanterna meaning lantern, refers to the morphology of the pericarp, which has a three-windowed structure resembling a lantern.[5]

Conservation

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It is not threatened.[8] The Nature Conservation Act status is least concern.[1] Likewise, the IUCN conservation status is least concern (LC).[2]

Ecology

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It occurs in ephemeral pools,[10] seasonal swamps dominated by Melaleuca leucadendron,[5] and stream margins.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Queensland Government. (2024, May 20). Species profile — Trithuria lanterna. Retrieved November 9, 2024, from https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species-search/details/?id=10003
  2. ^ a b Brummitt, N. 2013. Trithuria lanterna. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T44392948A44408157. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T44392948A44408157.en. Accessed on 09 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Trithuria lanterna D.A.Cooke". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  4. ^ D.T. Liddle, I.D. Cowie, S.R. Hirst and B.M. Stuckey (2017). A field guide to plants of Darwin Sandsheet Heath. Report to Territory Natural Resource Management, Project NTRM00420. Top End Native Plant Society in collaboration with Northern Territory Herbarium, Northern Territory Government, Darwin.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cooke, D. A. (1981). New species of Schoenus (Cyperaceae) and Trithuria (Hydatellaceae). Muelleria, 4(4), 299-303.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Sokoloff, D. D., Remizowa, M. V., Macfarlane, T. D., & Rudall, P. J. (2008). Classification of the early‐divergent angiosperm family Hydatellaceae: One genus instead of two, four new species and sexual dimorphism in dioecious taxa. Taxon, 57(1), 179-200.
  7. ^ a b Trithuria lanterna D.A.Cooke. (n.d.). Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved November 9, 2024, from https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2912486#ausTraits
  8. ^ a b c Western Australian Herbarium & Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. (n.d.-c). Trithuria lanterna D.A.Cooke. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora. Retrieved November 9, 2024, from https://florabase.dbca.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/1140
  9. ^ Sokoloff, D. D., Remizowa, M. V., Conran, J. G., Macfarlane, T. D., Ramsay, M. M., & Rudall, P. J. (2014). Embryo and seedling morphology in Trithuria lanterna (Hydatellaceae, Nymphaeales): new data for infrafamilial systematics and a novel type of syncotyly. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 174(4), 551-573.
  10. ^ Sokoloff, D. D., Remizowa, M. V., Macfarlane, T. D., Tuckett, R. E., Ramsay, M. M., Beer, A. S., ... & Rudall, P. J. (2008). Seedling diversity in Hydatellaceae: implications for the evolution of angiosperm cotyledons. Annals of Botany, 101(1), 153-164.