Leucopogon fraseri
Near Adaminaby
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Leucopogon
Species:
L. fraseri
Binomial name
Leucopogon fraseri
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms[1]

Styphelia fraseri (A.Cunn.) F.Muell. nom. illeg.
Cyathodes fraseri (A.Cunn.) Allan
Leucopogon bellignianus Raoul
Pentachondra mucronata Hook.f.
Styphelia mucronata (Hook.f.) J.H.Willis
Leucopogon stuartii F.Muell. ex Sond.
Leucopogon nesophilus auct. non DC. Benth.
Styphelia nesophila auct. non (DC.) Sleumer

Habit

Leucopogon fraseri is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is native to south-eastern continental Australia and New Zealand, where it is known as Styphelia nesophila, pātōtara, or dwarf mingimingi.[2] It is a prickly, prostrate to trailing or low-growing shrub with egg-shaped leaves, and erect, tube-shaped white flowers usually arranged singly in leaf axils.

Description

Leucopogon fraseri is a prickly, prostrate to trailing, low-growing shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 30 cm (12 in) and has bristly branchlets. Its leaves are egg-shaped to lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 3–8 mm (0.12–0.31 in) long and 1–2.5 mm (0.039–0.098 in) wide. The leaves are glabrous, pale-edged, and have a thin, sharp point up to 1.5 mm (0.059 in) long on the tip. The flowers are usually arranged singly in leaf axils on a peduncle about 1 mm (0.039 in) long, with bracteoles 1.1–1.8 mm (0.043–0.071 in) long at the base. The sepals are 2.5–3.9 mm (0.098–0.154 in) long, the petals forming a tube 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and hairy inside, the petal lobes 2.0–3.4 mm (0.079–0.134 in) long. Flowering occurs from August to October and the fruit is a glabrous, yellow, egg-shaped to elliptic drupe 4.7–5.3 mm (0.19–0.21 in) long.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy

Leucopogon fraseri was first formally described in 1838 by Allan Cunningham in the journal, Annals of Natural History from a specimen found in 1820, "among ferns on the hills near the Bay of Islands" by Charles Fraser.[5][6]

Distribution and habitat

This leucopogon grows in forest, shrubland and heath, often in poorly-drained or sandy soils or among rocks, and usually occurs at an altitude of above about 500 m (1,600 ft). It is found on the tablelands of northern and southern New South Wales, in eastern Victoria, on the Central Plateau of Tasmania, and in New Zealand.[2][3][4]

Conservation status

Leucopogon fraseri is listed as "not threatened" in New Zealand.[2]

Ecology

The fleshy fruits are dispersed by frugivory.[7]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leucopogon fraseri.
  1. 1 2 "Leucopogon fraseri". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Leucopogon fraseri". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 Powell, Jocelyn M. (1992). "Leucopogon fraseri". Plantnet - Flora Online. NSW Government. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 Powell, Jocelyn M.; Walsh, Neville G.; Brown, Elizabeth A. "Styphelia nesophila". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  5. ↑ Cunningham, Allan (1838). "Florae insularum Novae Zelandiae precursor". Annals of Natural History. 2 (7): 47–48. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  6. ↑ "Leucopogon fraseri". APNI. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  7. ↑ Thorsen, M.J.; Dickinson, K.J.M.; Seddon, P.J. (2009). "Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora". Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. 11 (4): 285–309. doi:10.1016/j.ppees.2009.06.001. ISSN 1433-8319.
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