Muellerina bidwillii
Muellerina bidwillii (artist F.C.Wills)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Loranthaceae
Genus: Muellerina
Species:
M. bidwillii
Binomial name
Muellerina bidwillii
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms[1]

Loranthus bidwillii Benth.
Furcilla bidwillii (Benth.) Tiegh.
Phrygilanthus bidwillii (Benth.) Eichler

Muellerina bidwillii, common name Cypress-pine mistletoe,[3] is a hemiparasitic aerial shrub in the family Loranthaceae.[4] The species is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland.[4]

Description

M. bidwillii is an erect to spreading plant, the branches and leaves of which are smooth (or having a few scattered hairs on the inflorescence axes).[5] The leaves are linear to oblanceolate and rounded at the tip.[5] The leaf blade is from 1.5 to 3 cm long and 1.5 to 3 mm wide, with obscure venation and an obscure petiole.[5] The inflorescence a 2-flowered simple umbel on a peduncle which is from 3 to 6 mm long. The corolla in the mature bud is 20–27 mm long, and the flower has anthers 1–1.5 mm long, with the free part of filament being 8–10 mm long.[5] The pink or red fruit is pear-shaped to spherical and from 6 to 8 mm long.[5]

Ecology

The main hosts on which M. bidwillii grows are Callitris species, in particular Callitris glaucophylla.[3] An inventory of host plants for Muellerina bidwillii spp. is given by Downey.[6][7]

Muellerina bidwillii is not known to host any butterflies.[3]

Taxonomy

The species was first described by George Bentham in 1867 as Loranthus bidwillii.[1][8] It was redescribed by B.A.Barlow in 1962 as Muellerina bidwillii, with the current description of the species being that of Barlow in 1984.[1][5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "APNI: Muellerina bidwillii". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  2. ↑ Barlow, B.A. (1962) Studies in Australian Loranthaceae. I. Nomenclature and new additions. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 87(1): 53
  3. 1 2 3 Watson, D.M. (2011) Mistletoes of Southern Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria
  4. 1 2 Quirico, A.L. "Muellerina bidwillii". PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online. Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney Australia. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Barlow, B.A. in George, A.S. (ed.) (1984), Loranthaceae. Flora of Australia 22: 90, Fig. 23B, Map 102
  6. ↑ Downey, P.O. (1998) An inventory of host species for each aerial mistletoe species (Loranthaceae and Viscaceae) in Australia. (Cunninghamia 5(3) 685-720)
  7. ↑ Downey, P.O. (2004) A regional examination of the mistletoe host species inventory. (Cunninghamia 8(3) 354-361)
  8. ↑ Bentham, G. (1867) Orders XLVIII. Myrtaceae- LXII. Compositae. Flora Australiensis 3: 390
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