Trochocarpa gunnii – Wikipedia
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Trochocarpa gunnii, commonly known as sweet-scented trochocarpa or fragrant purpleberry, is a common rainforest understorey shrub from the plant family Ericaceae (formerly Epacridaceae) endemic to Tasmania.
Description[edit]
Trochocarpa gunnii is a densely branched understorey shrub, usually growing to 2-4m tall[1][2] and spreading with twisting branches.[3] Leaves grow alternately along the branches, arranged so that the shoot appears flattened.[4] The leaves are small (6-10mm long) and oval-elliptical to oblong shaped, with a dark green adaxial (upper) surface and a lighter green abaxial (lower) surface.[1] Leaves have 5-7 parallel veins running along the abaxial surface. T. gunnii has small, white, pink or red flowers, and is the only species in this genus with a glabrous corolla.[4] The flowers are sweetly scented and arranged in short spikes near the ends of branches or in the axils of leaves of the previous year’s shoots.[2][3] Flowers can be seen in the summer months of December to March. The fruits of T. gunnii are small purple/blue, sometimes orange, globular drupes, 6-8mm in diameter.[3] The seeds are dispersed by birds.
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)[5] also have similar foliage to T. gunnii, however these species only have one vein on the underside of the leaf.
Distribution[edit]
Trochocarpa gunnii is endemic to Tasmania and is found in rainforests and sub-alpine areas of the North West, West and South of the state.[3][6] It is sometimes found near quartzite outcrops, and grows well in moist, rocky, well-drained soil in sheltered areas.[3] It is present in thamnic rainforests, which have a well-developed shrub layer and may include native laurel, native plum and horizontal.[7] Locations that T. gunnii occur in include South West of Lake St. Clair, Hampshire Hills,[2]Mt Field,[1] and many more.[6]
Taxonomy[edit]
Trochocarpa: Greek trochos means wheel, and carpos means fruit.[8]Gunnii is named after Ronald Campbell Gunn of Launceston[9] (1808-1881) who was a botanist, public servant and politician.[10] This species’ common names are sweet-scented trochocarpa and fragrant purpleberry, due to the sweet odour of its flowers and its purple berries.
Phylogeny[edit]
The closest relatives of Trochocarpa gunnii appear to be Monotoca scoparia and Montitega dealbata,[11] both of which occur in Tasmania.[6]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] as T. gunnii is. However, this phylogenetic tree is debated at the genus level and is inconclusive at this specificity.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Jordan, Greg. “Species Information: Trochocarpa gunnii”.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Bentham, George; Mueller, Ferdinand von (1869). Flora australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian territory. Vol. 4. London: L. Reeve and co.
- ^ a b c d e “Communities”. www.understorey-network.org.au. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ a b c Jordan, Greg. “Key to Tasmanian Dicots: Trochocarpa gunnii”.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ “Key to Tasmanian Dicots”. www.utas.edu.au. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ a b c Australia, Atlas of Living. “Species: Trochocarpa gunnii”. bie.ala.org.au. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ “Forestry | Department of State Growth”. www.stategrowth.tas.gov.au. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ Wapstra, Mark (2010). Tasmanian plant names unravelled. Fullers Bookshop. ISBN 978-0-9804720-2-8. OCLC 681305362.
- ^ “Acacia”. www.utas.edu.au. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ Burns, T. E.; Skemp, J. R., “Gunn, Ronald Campbell (1808–1881)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, 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.
External links[edit]
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