Amyema gaudichaudii

Amyema gaudichaudii, commonly known as melaleuca mistletoe is a plant in the family Loranthaceae endemic to eastern Australia. Like other mistletoes, it is a shrubby, woody, aerial hemiparasite plant. It has relatively small, wedge-shaped leaves and small, dark red flowers arranged in groups of three. It only grows on a few species of Melaleuca.

Amyema gaudichaudii
Amyema gaudichaudii on Melaleuca decora
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Loranthaceae
Genus: Amyema
Species:
A. gaudichaudii
Binomial name
Amyema gaudichaudii
Collections data for A. gaudichaudii from the Australasian Virtual Herbarium

Description

Amyema gaudichaudii is a mistletoe with wedge-shaped leaves 2–4 cm (0.8–2 in) long, 2–6 mm (0.08–0.2 in) wide, tapering to a petiole 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long and with a rounded end. The plant is glabrous apart from a few short rust-coloured hairs on the young branches and flower buds. The flowers are arranged in a group of three, the group resembling a candelabra, with a stalk or peduncle 6–12 mm (0.2–0.5 in) long. The flowers on the end have a stalk or pedicel 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long but the central flower is stalkless. There are four or five dark red petals 7–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long with a club-like end. Flowering is mostly in summer and is followed by almost spherical, red fruits about 4 mm (0.2 in) in diameter.[2][3][4]

Delias aganippe laying eggs on Amyema gaudichaudii

Taxonomy and naming

This mistletoe was first formally described in 1830 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, who gave it the name Loranthus gaudichaudii and published the description in Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis.[5][6] In 1895, the French botanist, Philippe Édouard Léon Van Tieghem changed the name to Amyema gaudichaudii.[1] The specific epithet (gaudichaudii) honours Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré, the collector of the type specimen.[6]

Distribution and habitat

Amyema gaudichaudii only grows on melaleucas in forest and swamp woodland. It has been recorded on seven species of melaleuca, especially on M. decora and M. bracteata. It occurs in two disjunct populations in Queensland and New South Wales. In Queensland it is found in the western Darling Downs and in New South Wales in coastal areas between the Hunter and Illawarra districts.[2][3][4]

Ecology

This mistletoe is a food source for the caterpillars of Delias aganippe and Ogyris amaryllis.[2]

References
  1. "Amyema gaudichaudii". APNI. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  2. Watson, David M.; Hulley, Robyn (2011). Mistletoes of Southern Australia. Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing. p. 36. ISBN 9780643095939.
  3. Quirico, Anna-Louise. "Amyema gaudichaudii". Royal botanic Gardens Sydney: plantnet. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  4. Barlow, Bryan A. "Amyema gaudichaudii". Australian National Botanic Garden: plantnet. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  5. "Loranthus gaudichaudii". APNI. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  6. de Candolle, Augustin Pyramus (1830). Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis (Part 4). Paris. p. 295. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
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