Trochocarpa gunnii is a species of flowering plant of the family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a common, tall, rainforest understorey shrub with broadly oblong leaves and small, dense spikes of white, sometimes pink or red, glabrous flowers and purple to orange drupes.
| Trochocarpa gunnii | |
|---|---|
| |
| In Mt. Field National Park | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Trochocarpa |
| Species: | T. gunnii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Trochocarpa gunnii | |
Description
editTrochocarpa gunnii is a common, rainforest understorey shrub that typically grows to a height of about 2–4 m (6 ft 7 in – 13 ft 1 in)[2] and has many branches.[3] The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches, so that the shoot appears flattened.[4] The leaves are oval to oblong, usually 6–9 mm (0.24–0.35 in) long with 3 to 5 ribs on the lower, lighter surface.[3][5] The flowers are borne in short, almost spherical spikes on the ends of branches or on the previous year's growth with bracts and bracteoles about half as long as the sepals, the sepals about 1.6 mm (0.063 in) long. The petals are white, pink or red and glabrous, joined at the base to for a bell-shaped tube 3.2 mm (0.13 in) long and longer than the sepals, the petal-lobe short.[4][5] The fruits is a fleshy, purple to orange drupe about 8 mm (0.31 in) in diameter.[3]
Taxonomy
editThis species was first formally described in 1847 by Joseph Dalton Hooker who gave it the name Decaspora gunnii in William Jackson Hooker's The London journal of botany, from specimens collected in the "Hampshire Hills" by Ronald Campbell Gunn.[6][7] In 1868, George Bentham transferred the species to Trochocarpa as T. gunnii in his Flora Australiensis."[5][8] The specific epithet (gunnii), honours the collector of the type collection.[7]
This species can be confused with Trochocarpa cunninghamii, which is a low growing, scrambling shrub with red flowers, and is more commonly found at high altitudes.[4] The rainforest Archeria species (A. eriocarpa and A. hirtella)[9] also have similar foliage to T. gunnii, however these species only have one vein on the underside of the leaf.
Distribution and habitat
editTrochocarpa gunnii is endemic to Tasmania and is found in rainforests and sub-alpine areas of the state.[10]
Phylogeny
editThe closest relatives of Trochocarpa gunnii appear to be Monotoca scoparia and Montitega dealbata,[11] both of which occur in Tasmania.[10] M. scoparia is endemic to Australia[12] and is found in many parts of the South East of the country, while M. dealbata is endemic to Tasmania.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Trochocarpa gunnii". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
- ^ Jordan, Greg. "Species Information: Trochocarpa gunnii".
- ^ a b c Rodway, Leonard (1903). The Tasmanian Flora. Hobart Tasmania: J. Vail, Government Printer. pp. 112–113. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Jordan, Greg. "Trochocarpa gunnii". University of Tasmania. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Bentham, George; Mueller, Ferdinand von (1869). Flora australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian territory. Vol. 4. London: Lovell Reeve and Co.
- ^ "Decaspora gunnii". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ a b Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1847). Hooker, William Jackson (ed.). "Florae Tasmaniae Spicilegium: or, Contributions towards a Flora of Van Diemen's Land". London Journal of Botany. 6: 270. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ "Trochocarpa gunnii". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ "Key to Tasmanian Dicots". www.utas.edu.au. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ a b Australia, Atlas of Living. "Species: Trochocarpa gunnii". bie.ala.org.au. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ Johnson, Karen A.; Holland, Barbara R.; Heslewood, Margaret M.; Crayn, Darren M. (2012-01-01). "Supermatrices, supertrees and serendipitous scaffolding: Inferring a well-resolved, genus-level phylogeny of Styphelioideae (Ericaceae) despite missing data". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 62 (1): 146–158. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.09.011. ISSN 1055-7903.
- ^ "Flora of Victoria". vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ "Key to Tasmanian Dicots". www.utas.edu.au. Retrieved 2023-03-27.