Muellerina flexialabastra
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Loranthaceae
Genus: Muellerina
Species:
M. flexialabastra
Binomial name
Muellerina flexialabastra
Downey & C.A.Wilson[1][2]
Occurrence data from AVH

Muellerina flexialabastra, common name Hoop pine mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic aerial shrub in the family Loranthaceae.[3] The species is endemic to Queensland.[3]

Description

M. flexialabastra is a compact, bushy plant found in high altitude sub-tropical rainforests and the drier rainforests between Queensland and New South Wales.[3] The inflorescence is a terminal raceme off a central axis, and the pink to red tubular flowers occur in strongly reflexed, decussate pairs with a central sessile flower.[3] The ovoid fruits (6 – 15 mm long) are a red-blotched yellowish-green.[3]

Ecology

The main host on which M. flexialabastra grows is Hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii).[3] An inventory of host plants for Muellerina flexialabastra is given by Downey.[4][5]

Muellerina flexialabastra is not known to host any butterflies, but butterfly species using M. celastroides may use this mistletoe as well.[3]

Taxonomy

The species was first described by Paul Downey and Carol Wilson in 2004 as Muellerina flexialabastra.[1][2] There are no synonyms.[1][6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "APNI: Muellerina flexialabastra". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  2. 1 2 Downey, P.O.; Wilson, C.A. (2004). "Muellerina flexialabastra (Loranthaceae): a new species of mistletoe from south-eastern Australia". Australian Systematic Botany. 17 (5): 441. doi:10.1071/SB03018. ISSN 1030-1887. (pp.444-445, Fig. 1)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Moss, J.T. & Kendall, R. (2016) The Mistletoes of subtropical Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club Inc. Runcorn Queensland.
  4. ↑ Downey, P.O. (1998) An inventory of host species for each aerial mistletoe species (Loranthaceae and Viscaceae) in Australia. (Cunninghamia 5(3) 685-720)
  5. ↑ Downey, P.O. (2004) A regional examination of the mistletoe host species inventory. (Cunninghamia 8(3) 354-361)
  6. ↑ Govaerts, R. et al. (2018) Plants of the world online: Muellerina flexialabastra. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
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