Lysiana exocarpi

Lysiana exocarpi, commonly known as harlequin mistletoe, is a species of hemiparasitic shrub, endemic to Australia. It is in the Gondwanan family Loranthaceae and is probably the most derived genus of that family with 12 pairs of chromosomes. The Loranthaceae is the most diverse family in the mistletoe group with over 900 species worldwide and including the best known species in Australia. Mistletoes are notable for their relationships with other species. In an early reference to the group in Australia Allan Cunningham explorer and first Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, wrote in 1817: "The Bastard Box is frequently much encumbered with the twining adhering "Loranthus aurantiacus" (box mistletoe) which 'Scorning the soil, aloft she springs, Shakes her red plumes and claps her golden wings'."
Description.
Spreading to shrub, glabrous; no external runners.
Leaves flat or compressed when very narrow, linear to narrow-oblong, sessile or the wider leaves shortly petiolate, 3–15 cm long, 1–10 mm wide, apex is usually rounded, base attenuate - contracted, venation is obscure; shortly petiolate.
Inflorescence pedunculate usually a 2-flowered umbel; peduncle usually 0.5–2 mm in length; pedicels 2–5 mm long; bracts 1–1.5 mm long. Corolla 25–50 mm long, is usually red, rarely yellow, can also be tipped with green or black.
Fruit ellipsoidal to ovoid, 6–10 mm long, red or black.
Subspecies.
"Lysiana exocarpi" subsp. "exocarpi".
Leaves are linear to narrow-oblong or narrow-elliptic and occasionally obcordate, 3–10 mm wide, often thick or leathery at maturity. Plant spreading to pendent. Mostly parasitic on species of "Acacia", "Alectryon", "Amyema", "Cassia", Casuarinaceae, "Eremophila", "Exocarpos", and exotic trees, west from Moree district. Synonym: "L. exocarpi" subsp. "diamantinensis"
"Lysiana exocarpi" subsp. "tenuis".
Leaves linear, 1–3 mm wide, not terete but sometimes compresses. Plant is pendent. It is found in open woodland and forest, usually on species of Casuarinaceae, north from the Hunter Valley First described in 1925 by Blakely as "Loranthus exocarpi" var. "tenuis" and revised by Barlow in 1963 to "Lysiana exocarp"i subsp.t"enuis".
Habitat and distribution.
"Lysiana" species can be broadly grouped into those that have 80-90 units of DNA and those that have greater than 100 units. "L. exocarpi" is the only species that extends its range into temperate non-arid regions, with DNA values predominantly above 100, the average being 117 units.
Open woodland and forest, extending into semi-arid woodlands dominated by acacia.
"L. exocarpi:" Occurs in arid and temperate regions of all mainland States, from Lake Carnegie, W.A, to the Hunter Valley, NSW, in open forest and woodland on many different hosts but frequently on other Loranthaceae.
"L. exocarpi" subsp. "exocarpi": Occurs in arid and temperate Australia from Lake Carnegie, Q.A., to western Qld and central Vic; on many host species, most frequently on "Acacia", "Amyema", "Cassia", Casuarinaceae, "Eremophila", "Exocarpos", "Alectryon" and exotic trees. A polymorphic subspecies, with a cline towards wider and thicker leaves from temperate to arid habitats.
"L. exocarpi" subsp. "tenuis:" Occurs in Qld and NSW from the Darling Downs to the Hunter Valley and inland to the Western Plains, in open woodland and forest, usually on Casuarinaceae.
Life cycle.
Flowering and germination.
Flowering occurs mainly in summer. Charles Brittlebank (1908) noted that germination "usually takes place in one to two days, but may be delayed in some cases for a period of 50 days".
Fire responses.
Life span - 4 to 20 years. First seeds - 2 to 3 years. Adult fire response - greater than a 70% mortality when subject to total leaf scorch. Resprouting - none.
Parasitism.
Mistletoes generally have green or green-yellow coloured leaves and stems and photosynthesise. However, they use the water supply of the host plant and the water-soluble nutrients in the water (sap). For this reason, they are considered to be semi-parasites. Attachment to the host plant is by means of one or more woody absorbing organs (haustoria). This organ effectively replaces the root system of a normal plant, and extends through the bark layers of the host and into the young wood zone, where most of the water transport occurs.
Mistletoes often have foliage that mimics the host plant.
"Lysiana exocarpi" is known to "epiparasitise" other mistletoes, namely "Amyema" species: "A. maidenii", "A. miquelii" (box mistletoe), "A. quandang"
Host plants.
In New South Wales the most common hosts are species of "Eucalyptus" and "Acacia" and also "Flindersia", "Pittosporum", "Santalum"
In a comprehensive study of Australian herbaria specimens, Paul Downey found that the host plants for Australian mistletoes were mostly dicotyledonous angiosperms with a small number of gymnosperms in the genera "Araucaria", "Callitris" and "Pinus". No host species were herbaceous. Every host family and genus recorded contained species which were not documented as mistletoe host species. The two major genera of host species were "Eucalyptus" and "Acacia" with 2084, and 2559 records respectively. There were 187 species of "Eucalyptus" and 150 species of "Acacia". Seven mistletoe species commonly parasitised exotic host species including "L. exocarpi". The commonly recorded exotic host species included "Nerium oleander", "Citrus" spp., "Prunus" spp., "Schinus molle" and "Quercus" spp.
"L. exocarpi" was found in 901 records and 109 species. The host families were Apocynaceae, Caesalpiniaceae, Capparaceae, Casuarinaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Fabaceae, Fagaceae, Loranthaceae, Malvaceae, Meliaceae, Mimosaceae, Moraceae, Myoporaceae, Myrtaceae, Oleaceae, Pittosporaceae, Polygonaceae, Proteaceae, Rhamnaceae, Rutaceae, Santalaceae, Sapindaceae, Solanaceae and Zygophyllaceae. In a 1990 study of "L. exocarpi" subsp. "exocarpi" in Southern South Australia, Yan found that this species showed a specific preference for "Alectryon oleifolius" and "Myoporum platycarpum" supporting Barlow's view that all Australian mistletoes of open forest and woodland are host specific to some extent. He also found that rainfall was a determining factor in regulating the distribution.
Insect and animal associations.
Interactions between mistletoes and animals have long been noted and were used by Charles Darwin as early exemplars of evolutionary adaptation with Carl Linnaeus credited as the first to describe the mistletoe life cycle. Pliny the Elder had recorded similar observations some 1600 years earlier. Most species of mistletoe are dispersed by animals, chiefly birds and this close relationship has been treated as a model system in the study of fruit dispersal generally. Many insects pollinate mistletoes primarily in the Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera.
At least 27 species of Australian butterflies use mistletoes as their host plant. The two groups are the jezebels (Pieridae) and azures (Lycaenidae). Upon hatching, the caterpillars subsist and grow entirely on the foliage. Although some species drop off to pupate in the ground beneath, most remain in the clump attaching their chrysalis to the tips of denuded twigs or burrowing into the junction between mistletoe and the host tree to evade predators. "L. exocarpi" is a host plant for "Ogyris aenone" and is a popular food plant for nectar feeding birds when in full flower.
The mistletoe fruit is a single-seeded berry, often brightly coloured, with striking adaptations for bird dispersal, germination and attachment. Under the outer coat of the fruit is a sticky layer of viscin, which is rich in glucose, and which envelops the seed. Birds which feed on the fruits often have specialized feeding behaviour, swallowing the seed whole after squeezing it from the fruit coat. Birds have been reported nipping the end off the fruit, as though removing a cap, prior to squeezing out the seed. Notable dispersal agents are the mistletoebird ("Dicaeum hirundinaceum"), and some honeyeaters in Australia ("Grantiella", "Acanthagenys", "Plectorhyncha")
Ethnobotany.
Bushfood.
According to Les Hiddins, Aboriginal people would eat the fruit without chewing so they wouldn't stick to the tongue. The ripeness of the berry is indicated not only by its softness, but often also by a slight translucence. When quite ripe the sticky, gelatinous, sweet pulp surrounding the single seed is pleasant to eat, but its great stickiness often make the seed almost impossible to spit out. Birds have the same difficulty and may sometimes be seen wiping their beaks free of seeds against the branch of a tree. Jennifer Isaacs lists berries of "L. exocarpi" and "L.spathulata" as being eaten in the Central desert Peter Latz notes that the calories obtained would be rather low. Aborigines often pluck whole branches from the tree and pick off the berries at their leisure. These berries are particularly favored by children. Although all Aboriginal groups have two or more names for mistletoes, it appears that they do not give separate names to each species. The Walpiri word for both "L. murrayi" and "L. spathulata" is "pawurlirri". The Antakirinja people around Coober Pedy call the berries of "L. exocarpi" Ngantja.
Reference to the fruit was first contained in a letter written by Governor Gawler during an ill-fated expedition in 1839 led by Charles Sturt. Gawler to his brother-in-law, Henry Cox, 20 December 1839: "The poor boy (Henry Bryan) accompanied me most cheerfully, he had been resting all day and did not appear to suffer from the subsequent exertion. He brought me the pulpy but bitter fruit of the mesembryantheumum and the little berries of the exocarpi - and ate plenty of them himself - he made many observations about our course, appearing to recollect its striking features well, and calculated our distances with much precision".
Medicinal.
In Europe mistletoe leaves and young twigs are used by herbalists, especially in Germany, for treating circulatory and respiratory system problems. Mistletoe extract is sold as Iscador, Helixor, and several other trade names. Use of mistletoe extract in the treatment of cancer originated with Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy. He compared the parasitic nature of the mistletoe plant to that of cancer, and believed that cancer represents a faltering of the body's spiritual defenses. Public interest in the United States was spurred in 2001 following actress Suzanne Somers' decision to use Iscador in lieu of chemotherapy following her treatment for breast cancer. Available clinical evidence, however, does not support claims of anti-cancer effect, quality of life, or other outcomes from the use of mistletoe extract. In 2007 researchers from Griffith University in Queensland found that a new natural product, lysianadioic acid, isolated from "Lysiana subfalcata"(in the same genus) was a carboxypeptidase B (CPB) inhibitor. It is a potent inhibitor of CPB with an IC50 of 0.36 lM. This is the first known example of a small molecule CPB inhibitor isolated from plant origin.
History.
"L. exocarpi" was first collected from Spencer's Gulf in 1802 by Robert Brown. It was first described as "Loranthus exocarpi" by Hans Hermann Behr in 1847 after his first visit to Australia 1844-45. Behr was the first botanist to systematically collect and study the flora of the Barossa Range, mallee scrubs towards the River Marne and areas adjacent to the River Murray at Moorundie. Dietrich von Schlechtendahl treated 200 plants collected by Behr, of which he described 62 as being new species: a further five, including "Loranthus exocarpi" were described by Behr.
In 1894 Philippe Édouard Léon Van Tieghem published a revision of "Loranthus" and created a new genus "Lysiana". The name is based on the Greek "lyo" - "I set free" - referring to the separation of the genus from "Loranthus".
External links.
(2013) NT Flora: "Lysiana exocarpi". Northern Territory Government.<br>


Ailanthus integrifolia

Ailanthus integrifolia, white siris, is a tree in the family Simaroubaceae. The specific epithet "" is from the Latin meaning "entire leaves", referring to the leaflet margins.
Description.
"Ailanthus integrifolia" grows as a large tree up to tall with a trunk diameter of up to . The smooth bark is light brown or grey. The ellipsoid fruits measure up to long.
Distribution and habitat.
"Ailanthus integrifolia" grows naturally in India, Vietnam, Malesia and Papuasia. Its main habitat is primary rainforest from sea-level to altitude.


Tricoryne

Tricoryne is a genus of perennial herbs in the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae. All species are native to Australia with two species extending to New Guinea; within Australia they occur in all 6 states and the Northern Territory.


Lithops meyeri

Lithops meyeri is a species of living stone ("Lithops"), under the family Aizoaceae. It is native to Southern Africa and named after Rev. Gottlieb Meyer.
Description.
The succulent plant grows with its leaves in pairs of two, with hardly any stem, and very low to the ground. The leaves can be a variety of colors, including yellow, green, grey, black, orange, purple and others.


Ulva bifrons

Ulva bifrons is a species of blackish-green coloured seaweed in the family Ulvaceae that can be found in Sezimbra, Portugal, in France and Spain, and Balearic islands.


Oliniaceae


Cycas ferruginea

Cycas ferruginea is a plant species native to Vietnam and to the Guangxi region of China. It grows on rocky crevices in forested areas at elevations of 200–500 m. It is known from a belt of limestone bluffs in Lang Son Province and Thai Nguyen Province in Vietnam, and in western Guangxi Province, China. It is also cultivated at the Guilin Botanical Garden, Guangxi.
"Cycas ferruginea" has pinnate leaves up to 2 m long. Seeds are brown, egg-shaped, up to 3 cm long.


Agelanthus atrocoronatus

Agelanthus atrocoronatus is a species of hemiparasitic plant in the family Loranthaceae. It is endemic to Tanzania. It is known only from the Mufindi Plateau in Tanzania, and was last collected in the 1980s.
Habitat/ecology.
"A. atrocoronatus" is parasitic on various hosts including Vitaceae (the wine-grape family), is bird pollinated, and found in grassland and at the edges of montane forest.
Threats & conservation efforts.
The major threats to this species are from urban expansion, and from the exploitation of the trees which host it.
Conservation efforts center on local tea estates which currently afford protection to the forests remaining within them.


Nepenthes biak

Nepenthes biak is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Indonesian island of Biak, after which it is named. Biak is a member of the Schouten Islands, located in Cenderawasih Bay, and is administered as part of Biak Numfor Regency, Papua Province. "Nepenthes biak" grows near sea level, usually on limestone coastal cliffs though occasionally as an epiphyte on mangrove trees.
Prior to its formal description, "N. biak" was lumped with the closely related "N. insignis", which is now considered to be restricted to the New Guinea mainland.
"Nepenthes biak" is a member of section "Insignes", which also includes 13 other species, mostly from the Philippines: "N. aenigma", "N. alzapan", "N. barcelonae", "N. bellii", "N. burkei", "N. insignis", "N. merrilliana", "N. northiana" (a questionable outlier from Borneo), "N. samar", "N. sibuyanensis", "N. surigaoensis", "N. ventricosa", and "N." sp. Raja Ampat. Its closest relatives are thought to be "N. insignis" and the undescribed "N." sp. Raja Ampat from the Raja Ampat Islands.
The type specimen, "Cheek 18785", originates from Biak. It was prepared on 25 August 2017 from a plant cultivated at Kew Gardens in London and originally donated by Robert Cantley. The holotype is held at the herbarium of the University of Papua in Manokwari (MAN), with isotypes at Kew Herbarium (K), the National Herbarium of the Netherlands in Leiden (L), and Herbarium Bogoriense (BO) of the Bogor Botanical Gardens.


Asemeia (plant)

Asemeia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Polygalaceae.
Species.
, "Plants of the World Online" accepted the following species:


Eriogonum roseum

Eriogonum roseum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name wand buckwheat. It is native to much of western California and the Sierra Nevada foothills, as well as parts of Oregon, and it is widespread and common in several plant communities.
Description.
This is an erect annual herb reaching maximum heights of well over half a meter (2 feet). Small oval leaves are located at the base of the plant and the inflorescence is slender and has few erect branches.
Flower clusters are located at nodes evenly spaced along the wandlike branches. The flowers are white or shades of yellow, pink, or both.


Loxogrammaceae


British NVC Community M2 (Sphagnum cuspidatum/recurvum bog pool community)


Leptinella

Leptinella is a genus of alpine flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, comprising 33 species, distributed in New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and South America. Many of the species are endemic to New Zealand.
For over 100 years, "Leptinella" species were considered part of the genus "Cotula", but the genus "Leptinella" was reinstated by Lloyd & Webb in 1987. They determined that all species of "Leptinella" are distinguished from those of the other two sections of "Cotula", and other Anthemideae, by the conspicuous "inflated" corollas of the female florets and by chromosome numbers based on x = 26 where known.
"Leptinella squalida" 'Platt's Black' is a form cultivated as a garden plant, and is used for ground cover and as a component in tapestry lawns.


Chusquea nana

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List of Lepidoptera that feed on Atriplex

Atriplex species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including:


British NVC community OV5

British NVC community OV5 ("Digitaria ischaemum - Erodium cicutarium" community) is one of the open habitat communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of six arable weed and track-side communities of light, less-fertile acid soils.
It is a very localised community. There are no subcommunities.
Community composition.
The following constant species are found in this community:
One rare species is associated with the community:
Distribution.
This community is confined to a single locality in Surrey.


Ipomoea polymorpha

Ipomoea polymorpha is a morning glory species that was first described by Swiss botanist Johann Jacob Roemer and Austrian botanist Josef August Schultes. It is endemic to Australia.


Alsophila rosenstockii

Alsophila rosenstockii, synonym Cyathea ascendens, is a species of tree fern native to northeastern New Guinea, where it grows in rain forest at an altitude of 800–1000 m. The erect trunk is slim and 1–2 m tall. Fronds are bi- or tripinnate and may be over 1 m in length. They form a distinctive open crown. The stipe is covered in glossy scales with pale, fragile edges. Sori occur near the midvein of fertile pinnules and lack indusia.


Linnaea floribunda

Linnaea floribunda is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, native to Mexico. Growing to tall and broad, it is a semi-evergreen or evergreen shrub with shiny ovate leaves and clusters of tubular cerise flowers to long. Though hardy down to it prefers a sheltered location, for instance against a south-facing stone wall.
Under its synonym "Vesalea floribunda" it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.


Dysoxylum pachyphyllum

Dysoxylum pachyphyllum is a small tree in the family Meliaceae, endemic to Lord Howe Island. It grows at all altitudes on the island, up to 15 metres tall.


Rhododendron subg. Pentanthera

Rhododendron" subgenus "Pentanthera was a subgenus of the genus "Rhododendron". The common name azalea is applied to many of the species, and also to species in some other subgenera. In 2005 it was discontinued and its four sections moved or dismembered.
The subgenus included four sections:


Tetragonula carbonaria

Tetragonula carbonaria (previously known as "Trigona carbonaria") is a stingless bee, endemic to the north-east coast of Australia. Its common name is sugarbag bee. They are also occasionally referred to as bush bees. The bee is known to pollinate orchid species, such as "Dendrobium lichenastrum", "D. toressae", and "D. speciosum". It has been identified as an insect that collects pollen from the cycad "Cycas media". They are also known for their small body size, reduced wing venation, and highly developed social structure comparable to honey bees.
"T. carbonaria" forms honeycombs in their nests. The bee produces an edible honey; the whole nest is sometimes eaten by Indigenous Australians. The bees "mummify" invasive small hive beetles ("Aethina tumida") that enter the nest by coating and immobilising the invaders in wax, resin, and mud or soil from the nest.
Stingless bees.
Twenty-one genera of stingless bees (family Apidae) are described worldwide. As the name would suggest, the stings of these bees are vestigial and useless in defence. About 14 species are found in Australia, mostly in the tropical north. "T. carbonaria" is one of the few exceptions, in which they are found as far south as Bega in southern New South Wales . Stingless bees and honey bees are thought to have evolved from a common ancestor, like bumblebees, which would explain their similarities in social behaviour. Some of these similarities are co-operative brood care, and having different castes of queens, workers, and drones. The workers are infertile females, while the drones are males.
Taxonomy and phylogeny.
The eusocial stingless bees (Apidae, Apinae, Meliponini) comprise about 374 species. Two genera occur in Australia, with "Tetragonula" being one of them. "Tetragonula" is the largest genus of stingless bees, with "T. carbonaria" being one of roughly 150 species in this genus. Only minor structural differences are seen at the species level of the genus "Tetragonula". "T. carbonaria" is nearly identical to "T. hockingsi", besides a few differences in their nest architecture.
Description.
Bees.
Compared to other stingless bees, "T. carbonaria" tends to be medium-sized. However, their size can vary based on location. For instance, "T. carbonaria" from Queensland can be as small as "T. mellipes", but in New South Wales, they can get as large as "T. hockingsi". They are all predominantly black-bodied, covered in microscopic hairs. The adult workers and males are all black, with some brownish tint in certain areas such as the legs. The worker’s body length is 3.9-4.3 mm, and the wing length (including tegula) is 4.1-4.6 mm. The male drones have very similar bodies and wing lengths, but can be identified by different antenae. "T. carbonaria" is a very strong flier, being able to fly up to 1 km. However, the species will not fly any further than they have to, so close resources are preferred over those farther away. "T. carbonaria" and its closely related species have high levels of morphological similarities. Also very low genetic variation exists within "T. carbonaria". "T. carbonaria" can be distinguished from other species of Australian Native Stingless Bees by their brood (in a distinctive spiral unique to the species), and by the entrance (these bees tend to daub resins around their entrances, where as other species, such as "T. hockingsi" generally keep their entrances clean.
Nest structure.
The entrance and surrounding areas of their nest are coated with a smooth, thick layer of black, red, or yellow cerumen or propolis, a material formed by mixing beeswax (a glandular secretion of worker bees) with resin (collected from plants). They lack external entrance tunnels, but do build internal entrance tunnels where guard bees patrol, looking out for any intruders (including Small Hive Beetle, Phorid Fly, and other bees). "T. carbonaria" builds brood cells arranged in combs or semicombs. The cells are a single layer of hexagonal combs that are built in a distinctive spiral. They are vertically elongated and in a regular vertical orientation. They are built out of brown cerumen, and house the eggs and larvae. New cells are added to the brood by the advancing front. The nest cavity may be sealed off from adjoining cavities by a hard batumen layer of cerumen or field-collected material. The brood chamber is centred in the hive, which makes "T. carbonaria" suitable for hive propagation. The brood chamber is also made up of multiple horizontal layers which allow for easy division of the brood comb.
Distribution and habitat.
The nests are found in open forests and woodlands. They are usually built in tree cavities, and have small cryptic entrances, with no external entrance tube. Four or five workers are usually visible at the entrance and are expected to be guards. They tend to choose larger trees and wider cavities to produce insulation valuable for their survival in the cool regions. Some features that would favour survival in a cooler climate are a high tree height and large feeding pots. The nesting sites of "T. carbonaria" are located near the top tree trunks that are 1.5 m in diameter, and are predominantly found in trees that are well insulated. Members of "T. carbonaria" also create the largest honey and pollen pots compared to the other species of the genus "Tetragonula", which may help with efficient food storage. In urban and suburban areas, "T. carbonaria" have been found to nest in Telstra pits as well as water meters when other habitat is not available.
Colony cycle.
Activity.
Colonies of "T. carbonaria" tend to be active all year round. The daily activity period, however, is longer in the southern hemisphere's warmer months, October to March. The intensity of these daily flights is greatest in September, and least intense in May. A temperature threshold exists on all of this activity. Flight can only occur at temperatures greater than 18 °C. This year-long period of activity is beneficial for the pollination of crops flowering at any time of the year.
Initiation.
Each brood cell is stocked almost to the brim with honey and pollen. An egg is laid in the cell by the queen and then the cell is closed. Complete larval and pupal development occurs in the closed cell . Once the adult emerges, the cell is destroyed. Most stingless bee species are monogynous, meaning that when the colony divides, one of the daughter colonies will be queenless. "T. carbonaria" colonies are frequently divided by beekeepers to increase the number of colonies. They build emergency queen cells by fusing two worker-sized cells that contain eggs or young larvae.
The queens cannot live alone and they are not transferred to a new nest until it has been fully prepared by workers. The new queen is the bee that makes the flight to the new nest, with the old queen remaining in the parent nest. When the old queen has died, mating swarms can occur at the established nest to replace the old queen with a young, unmated one.
Growth.
A study performed by Tim Heard in 1988 observed the propagation of hives in "T. carbonaria". He successfully transferred colonies to boxes, and then once the available space was occupied, he would split the box by prying apart the two halves of the box. He recorded that colony weight increased much more in spring and summer compared to autumn and winter. After about 17 months, the final weight was established. The rate at which colony weight increases is dependent on the availability of nectar and pollen, not age (however, it usually takes 12 to 18 months for a hive to be ready to be propagated). A heavy hive suggests filled storage pots and a large population of workers and brood, meaning the hive is ready to be split.
Behaviour.
Division of labour.
Division of labour exists among the workers. The young bees perform tasks within the nests, such as brood care. As they mature, they become foragers and their tasks are performed outside of the nest.
Foraging behaviour.
"T. carbonaria" depends on nectar and pollen for survival. They also collect resin for use in the nest structure. Workers tend to exhibit characteristics of group-foraging behaviour called "opportunism". In short, opportunism is when many foragers search for resources independently, and once they find a highly resourceful flower, they rapidly recruit nest mates. In other words, they are optimising the feeding intake of the colony. The success in this practice is dependent on chance. If a forager encounters an area full of rich resources, then recruitment and harvesting are extremely heavy in this area until the resources are depleted. Workers look for areas with the highest sugar concentration in the nectar, as they have the ability to physiologically identify the richest sugar solutions. As more nest mates arrive to the area with rich resources, the availability of this high-concentration sugar decreases to a point where moving onto another area that might be lower in concentration is best. In "T. carbonaria" colonies, only some of the bees do the foraging. Workers spread out in all directions surrounding the colony, and quickly locate the best option nearest the nest. Once this area is found, they mark the food sources with a pheromone. Marking is used as a guide to make the location easier to find for their nest mates.
Reproduction.
A study used microsatellites to determine the origin of males. The resident queen was the sole mother of the males. This meant that the workers did not contribute to the production of males. Ovaries were sometimes present in the workers, but not activated. This is unusual because most stingless bee workers can produce unfertilized eggs that develop into haploid males, therefore having both the queen and the workers with potential to be the mother of the males in the colony. This is also unusual because usually some sort of kin-selected benefits towards worker reproduction exist. One possibility could be that the queens have power over their workers. The aggressive oviposition can sometimes be seen as the queen "bullying" the other party into refraining from reproduction. However, very little queen-worker agonism occurs during oviposition in "T. carbonaria". Another possibility could be some sort of "evolutionary arms race" between workers and queens over which the caste has power to produce males. This could depend on some extrinsic factors such as the size of the colonies, the number of brood cells available for oviposition, and size dimorphism of queens and workers. A final possibility could be that workers have evolved to "self-restrain" from egg-laying because worker reproduction creates a significant cost to the colony. Some of these costs could be low reproductive success of worker-laid males or reduced colony productivity since the workers now have to focus on reproduction instead of colony maintenance.
Kin selection.
Genetic relatedness within colonies.
The workers tend to be the progeny of a singly mated queen. The colonies are predominantly haploid males which arose from queen-laid eggs. Mating frequency is a central factor in kin selection arguments. Some cases are seen of diploid males, which are generally sterile and are considered to have a very low fitness. Diploid males tend to have a cost to the colony because diploidy can result in a reduced proportion of workers able to perform their tasks, which is pivotal to the colony’s survival. In some extreme cases, workers have been reported to kill a queen producing diploid males, to help the future success of the colony.
Worker-queen conflict.
When workers do lay eggs, direct conflict tends to occur a within the colony between the queen and the workers over the source of male eggs. Queen-worker conflict is found in cell provisioning and the oviposition process of most stingless bee species. This conflict is usually very elaborate, and very apparent, but tends to not involve acts of aggression, which other species of stingless bees have been known to perform. Although worker oviposition is known to be controlled by worker policing, it can sometimes be controlled through queen dominance/policing. This is where the queen patrols the area where new brood cells are being produced, being able to have a hands-on policing which tends to be quite effective.
Interaction with other species.
Defence.
When the colonies are attacked, nest defence relies on the ability to recognise intruders. "T. carbonaria" sometimes displays a behaviour known as a "fighting swarm" when a non-nest mate is encountered. Thousands of workers gather together and form a cloud. The signal to form this cloud is most likely mediated by alarm pheromones, which workers release from their mandibular glands. As one entity, they drop to the ground and wrestle the intruders, which often leads to death of both parties. This behaviour is also a common defence mechanism against large predators such as humans. "T. carbonaria" bees are highly sensitive to intruders, since they will even attack invaders that are carrying pollen or nectar. Even if an intruder found a way to make it past the swarm, it still would not make it through the congested entrance tunnel.
Predators.
One predator known to the "T. carbonaria" is an Australian crab spider, "Diaea evanida". This organism, along with others, is able to exploit the interaction between plants and their pollinators. These nectar robbers pierce a hole in the corolla of the flower and drink the nectar without touching the pollen or stigma. A correlation seems to exist between nectar production and corolla tube length, so the crab spiders preferentially exploit the flowers with longer corolla tubes for higher nectar content. These crab spiders attract and ambush pollinators on flowers. They produce UV-reflective body colours that attract prey to the flowers they are occupying. However, Australian native bees are able to detect and avoid flowers harbouring crab spiders despite the fact that they are initially attracted to them. "D. evanida" spiders can generate colour contrasts for bees’ individual preferences, but "T. carbonaria" did not show any preference for any of the contrasts.
Parasites.
The braconid subfamily Euphorinae has several genera, including "Syntretus", known to be parasitoids of the adult stage of insects. They are a highly diverse group and tend to be very successful parasitoids worldwide. A new species of "Syntretus", "S. trigonaphagus", has recently been discovered as parasitizing workers of "T. carbonaria". Females of "S. trigonaphagus" are frequently found at the entrances of "T. carbonaria" hives near Queensland, Australia. They approach workers that land nearby and oviposit on the host by curling their abdomens. The workers repeatedly brush their abdomens afterwards, suggesting that they were aware that an attack occurred. The overall effect of this parasitism is usually fatal. Older workers are more likely to be parasitized. Because of this, as long as the number of parasites is minimal, the overall cost to the colony is not large, since these workers have already contributed substantially to the colony’s welfare.
Importance to humans.
Beekeeping.
Meliponiculture is the practice of stingless beekeeping, where beekeepers maintain, reproduce, and use stingless bee colonies for their own profit. These colonies tend to be managed through artificial hives, so that the beekeepers have the ability to propagate the colonies and produce hive products such as honey and pollen. These products are then sold to various buyers from health-food stores to gift shops. The honey of "T. carbonaria" possesses a peculiar smell which makes it quite the appealing product. When the first work began in 1984 on this stingless bee, the industry was practically nonexistent. Since then, the interest in stingless bees, more specifically "T. carbonaria", has greatly increased. This has allowed for the establishment of conservation groups along the eastern regions of Australia. "T. carbonaria" is the most popular species that beekeepers tend, followed by the "A. australis" and then "T. hockingsi". The main reason for most people to keep "T. carbonaria" is for enjoyment and conservation. With this, the amount of honey produced is constantly increasing at a fast pace. "T. carbonaria" is the main species from which beekeepers harvest honey, of the stingless bees in Australia. Beekeepers report that one of the major limiting factors in propagating colonies is the availability of queens. More research is needed on queen rearing to fix this limiting factor.
Agriculture (as pollinators).
Individual "T. carbonaria" bees demonstrate a consistency in floral choice. Individuals restrict their foraging activity to one kind of flower during a particular trip.
This consistency in a single pollen type enhances the pollinator efficacy by increasing the chances of pollen being transferred to stigmata of the same plant species. This increases their importance ecologically as crop pollinators. At the level of the colony, however, the species can use many different flowering species. So although the species is polylectic, individual bees remain consistent with their flower choice.
Honey.
Meliponines store their honey in pots, not in combs like the honey bees.
Compared to the honey of the Western honey bee "A. mellifera", "T. carbonaria" honey had higher values in moisture, water activity, and electrical activity. The two different honeys can also be distinguished by flavor and aroma. Also, the antioxidant activity of "T. carbonaria" honey has nutritional and pharmaceutical potential.


Adinandra forbesii

Adinandra forbesii is a species of plant in the Pentaphylacaceae family. It is endemic to New Guinea island, within the nation of Papua New Guinea, and in the Western New Guinea region of Indonesia. It is an IUCN Red List near-threatened species, endangered by habitat loss.


Tillandsia platyrhachis

Tillandsia platyrhachis is a species in the genus "Tillandsia". This species is native to Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador.


Typha capensis

Typha capensis is an aquatic plant known from southern and eastern Africa as far north as "Uganda". It has also been reported from Brazil.
The rhizomes of "Typha capensis" are used medicinally in southern Africa. It is reported to improve circulation and to enhance male libido and performance.


Pottia

Pottia is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Pottiaceae.
The genus has cosmopolitan distribution.
Species:


Didymocarpoideae

The Didymocarpoideae are a subfamily of plants in the family Gesneriaceae. It was formerly the subfamily Cyrtandroideae. This subfamily consists mostly of tropical and subtropical Old World genera, found in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. One species ("Rhynchoglossum azureum") is native to Central and South America.
Description.
Didymocarpoideae is one of two main subfamilies in the Gesneriaceae, the other being Gesnerioideae. (The third subfamily, Sanangoideae, contains only the genus "Sanango".) Didymocarpoideae seedlings usually have cotyledons which become different in size and shape (anisocotylous). One cotyledon ceases to grow at some point and then withers away. The other continues to grow, and in extreme cases may grow to become very large and be the only leaf on the plant ("Monophyllaea", some "Streptocarpus"). Didymocarpoideae flowers usually have two fertile stamens, less often four and rarely one or five. The ovary is always superior. The fruit is usually a dry capsule, although other kinds of fruit, such as a fleshy berry, are also found.
Tribes and genera.
A classification published in 2020 divides the subfamily into two tribes.
Distribution.
The species of the subfamily Didymocarpoideae are native to Europe, Africa, Asia, Malesia, the Pacific and Australia, except for a single species, "Rhynchoglossum azureum", which is native to the Neotropics (Central and South America).


Ilex florifera

Ilex florifera is a species of plant in the family Aquifoliaceae. It is endemic to Jamaica.


Carpobrotus mellei

Carpobrotus mellei (commonly known as mountain sourfig, ) is a succulent perennial of the family Aizoaceae, native to the inland mountain ranges of the Western Cape, South Africa.
Carpobrotus ("Sour-fig") species are generally coastal plants, and of the seven species which occur in South Africa, this is the only species which naturally occurs inland in mountain fynbos.
The Mountain Sourfig's purple to pink flowers appear in Spring, and its leaves are smaller and more narrow than its related species. Its fruits are also smaller, and are club-shaped.
Its natural habitat is the fynbos vegetation of the Western Cape's mountain ranges, namely the Hottentots Holland, the Langeberg and the Swartberg mountains.
Its fruits are edible and are grazed by tortoises and other southern African animals.


Rhinotropis intermontana

Rhinotropis intermontana, synonym Polygala intermontana, is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family known by the common name intermountain milkwort. It is native to the southwestern United States from Utah to northern Arizona and far eastern California, where it grows in desert scrub and woodland habitat. It is a small shrub growing erect or forming tangled, mats of thorny, highly branched stems. The stems are hairy in texture with white fibers. The sparse leaves are linear to oval in shape. The inflorescence bears one to seven flowers, each just a few millimeters in length. The flower has a winglike pair of greenish or whitish sepals and a keeled central petal.


Fagraea berteroana

Fagraea berteroana (orth. variant "F. berteriana"), commonly known as the pua keni keni, pua kenikeni or perfume flower tree, is a small spreading tree or a large shrub which grows in the sub-tropics, where temperatures are 10 °C or more. It is indigenous to the Samoa Islands where it is known as the "pua-lulu" and occurs from New Caledonia to eastern Polynesia. The ITIS database clarifies the spelling of the name ("Published as "berteriana" in honor of Bertero; correctable to "berteroana,"..).
Description.
The plant has quad-angular branches, blunt tipped leaves, and fragrant 7 cm tubular shaped flowers of creamy white, which become yellow with time.
Cultural use.
The flowers are popular for making "lei". The tree's name, in Hawaiian, means "ten cent flower", referring to the sale price for a lei made from them in the past.


Larnax andersonii

Larnax andersonii is a species of plant in the family Solanaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador.


Ammannia

Ammannia is a genus of around 100 species of plants often referred to as redstems from wet areas in America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. Several species are grown as decorative plants in aquariums.
The genus was named (but not published) by William Houstoun and later published by Linnaeus, who later indicated that the name honored Paul Amman. However, Philip Miller, who received Houstoun's manuscripts on Houston's death, stated that it honored Johann Amman.
Species.
, Plants of the World Online accepts 107 species:


Pogonatum

Pogonatum is a genus of mosses — commonly called spike moss — which contains approximately 70 species that cover a cosmopolitan distribution. It can be seen mostly in Asian countries with a tropical climate.
Species.
There are about 156 species known in all, 9 in North America.


Sambucus pubens

Sambucus pubens, the American red elder, is a species of elder ("Sambucus") native to eastern North America. The inflorescence is a rounded panicle, making the plant easy to distinguish from the more common "S. canadensis", which has a more open, flattened corymb. Some authors have considered "S. pubens" to be conspecific with "S. racemosa" L.
Uses.
Common name is "red-berried elder" or "red elderberry". The red berries are an important food source for many birds. They have a bitter taste and can cause digestive problems if eaten in large quantities by humans.


Chimaerochloa

Chimaerochloa is a genus of New Guinean plants in the grass family.
Species.
The only known species is Chimaerochloa archboldii.


Galium grayanum

Galium grayanum is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common name Gray's bedstraw. It is native to the high mountains of northern California, western Nevada and southwestern Oregon.
"Galium grayanum" is a mat-forming perennial herb that grows in green carpet-like patches amongst the rock litter of mountain slopes. Its creeping stems may reach up to about 20 centimeters long. Leaves are arranged in whorls of four at intervals on the stem. They are oval-shaped, pointed, slightly fleshy, and velvety. The plant is dioecious, but male and female flowers are similar in appearance, with small yellowish to reddish corollas at the ends of the leafy stems. The fruit is a nutlet with a coat of very long hairs. When in fruit with a large number of nutlets the plant takes on a fuzzy appearance.
Subspecies.
Two subspecies are currently (May 2014) recognized:


Corispermum

Corispermum is a genus of plants in the family Amaranthaceae. Common names given to members of the genus involve bugseed, tickseed, and tumbleweed. In general, these are erect annual plants with flat, thin leaves and topped with inflorescences of flowers with long bracts. Bugseeds are native to North America and Eurasia, but little is known about their taxonomy and distribution.
Species include:


Oedipodium

Oedipodium is the only genus of moss in the family Oedipodiaceae. It contains the single species Oedipodium griffithianum, the gouty-moss or Griffith's oedipodium moss. This species is distributed in cooler climates of Eurasia, as well as from Alaska, Washington state, British Columbia, Yukon, Greenland, Newfoundland, Tierra del Fuego and the "Falkland Islands".
The relationship of "Oedipodium" to other mosses has been much debated. Previously, the taxon has been included with the Funariales or the Splachnales. However, characteristics of the protonemata and asexual propagation, along with molecular evidence, point to a closer relationship with the Tetraphidaceae.


Blue vervain

Blue vervain is a common name for several plants in the genus "Verbena" and may refer to:


British NVC community OV2

British NVC community OV2 ("Briza minor" - "Silene gallica" community) is one of the open habitat communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of six arable weed and track-side communities of light, less-fertile acid soils.
It is a very localised community. There are no subcommunities.
Community composition.
The following constant species are found in this community:
Three rare species are associated with the community:
Distribution.
This community is confined to disturbed sandy soils. It is now found only in The Scillies, where it is most often seen in bulb fields.


Niphidium

Niphidium is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Polypodioideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). They are native to tropical America.
Species.
, "Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World" accepted the following species:


Lithophragma campanulatum

Lithophragma campanulatum is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name Siskiyou Mountain woodland star. It is native to southern Oregon and northern California, where it grows in the forests and woods of the mountains. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing erect or leaning with a tall naked flowering stem. The leaves are mostly located on the lower part of the stem, each divided into rounded lobes, sometimes narrowed into teeth. The stem bears 2 to 11 flowers, each in a cuplike calyx of red or green sepals. The five petals are white, under one centimeter long, and divided into irregular toothlike lobes.


Symphoricarpos vaccinioides

"Symphoricarpos vaccinioides" (Roundleaf Snowberry) is a North American species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family. It had been found in western Canada (British Columbia) and in the western United States (Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado).
"Symphoricarpos vaccinioides "is an erect branching shrub sometimes as much as 150 cm (5 feet) tall. Leaves are up to 2 cm (0.8 inch) long, dark green on the upper surface but lighter green underneath. It has pink, bell-shaped flowers and white fruits.


Stachyurus salicifolius

Stachyurus salicifolius, also known by the Chinese vernacular name 柳叶旌节花 (Liǔ yè jīng jié huā), is a species in the genus "Stachyurus" in the family "Stachyuraceae". It is native to China, specifically Chongqing, Sichuan, and northeast Yunnan.
Description.
"Stachyurus salicifolius" is an evergreen shrub which reaches 2-3 metres in height at maturity. In its native habitat, it flowers from April-May and fruits from June-July.
Etymology.
"Stachyurus" is derived from Greek and means 'spiked tail'. The name is a reference to the shape of the inflorescences of this genus.
"Salicifolius" means 'with leaves resembling those of "Salix"' ("Salix" + foliage).


Eriogonum nortonii

Eriogonum nortonii is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Pinnacles buckwheat. This small annual herb is endemic to California where it is known mainly from a few occurrences around the border between Monterey and San Benito Counties. It is sometimes seen on the protected land of Pinnacles National Park.
Description.
This plant grows anywhere between 5 and 20 centimeters in height, with a thread-thin branched stem which is often red in color. Most of the leaves are one half to one centimeter long, rounded, fuzzy underneath and wavy-edged. Tiny clusters of very light to deep pink flowers grow on minute erect stalks.


Caryocar costaricense

Caryocar costaricense is a species of plant in the Caryocaraceae family. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, and Venezuela. It is threatened by habitat loss.


Begonia dentatobracteata

Begonia dentatobracteata is a species of plant in the family Begoniaceae. It is endemic to China.


Maytenus disperma

Maytenus disperma, sometimes referred to as the orange boxwood, is a shrub or small tree growing in eastern Australia. Often seen in and near dry rainforests.


Frasera speciosa

Frasera speciosa is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family (Gentianaceae) known by the common names elkweed, deer's ears, and monument plant.
Range and habitat.
It is native to the western United States, where it grows in mountain forests, woodlands, and meadows. It tends to grow alone, apart from other members of its species, and is browsed by elk and livestock.
Description.
Growth pattern.
It is a perennial herb growing from a woody base surrounded by rosettes of large leaves that measure up to 50 centimeters long by 15 wide.
Stems and leaves.
It produces a single erect stem which can reach two meters in height.
Inflorescence and fruit.
The stem bears whorls of lance-shaped, pointed leaves smaller than those at the base. The plant is monocarpic, growing for several years and only flowering once before it dies. Flowering is synchronized among plants in a given area, with widespread, picturesque blooms occurring periodically. It is not known why some plants in an area will not flower in a mass flowering event, or what cues the plants rely on to initiate flowering. The inflorescence is a tall, erect panicle with flowers densely clustered at the top and then spread out in interrupted clusters below. Each flower has a calyx of four pointed sepals and a corolla of four pointed lobes each one to two centimeters long. The corolla is yellow-green with purple spots and each lobe has two fringed nectary pits at the base. There are four stamens tipped with large anthers and a central ovary.
It blooms from July to August.


Valeriana sitchensis

Valeriana sitchensis is a species of valerian known by the common name Sitka valerian. It is native to northwestern North America from Alaska and northern Canada to Montana to northern California, where it grows in many types of habitat, including moist mountain forests. In moist subalpine meadows, it is often one of the most common plants. This is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a stout, erect stem to about 70 centimeters in maximum height, but known to exceed one meter at times. The leaves vary in size and shape, often having deep lobes or being composed of several leaflets. The inflorescence is a cyme of many white or pink-tinged flowers, each under a centimeter wide. The flower has five corolla lobes and three whiskery stamens protruding from the center.
Native Americans cooked and ate the roots, which have a poor scent. Some tribes also pounded the roots to make a poultice.


Dudleya blochmaniae

Dudleya blochmaniae is a succulent plant known by the common names Blochman's liveforever or Blochman's dudleya.
Distribution.
This plant is endemic to coastal sage scrub habitats. It is native to Southern California (U.S.) and northwestern Baja California (México), where it grows along the coastlines.
Description.
"Dudleya blochmaniae" grows in small rosettes wide. It is somewhat erect, with cone-shaped, horn-shaped, or triangular succulent leaves along its stem. The succulent leaves may be brown, reddish-purple, or greenish.
It bears a branching inflorescence with a few flowers per branch, each opening into a star-shaped bloom with five pointed white petals, sometimes with streaks of red. The bloom period is March and April.
Subspecies.
Named subspecies include:


Celosia virgata

Celosia virgata, or albahaca, is found in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands but not in the continental United States. It is a perennial subshrub.


Jovellana punctata

Jovellana punctata, or the teacup flower, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Calceolariaceae. It is native to central Chile.
Taxonomy.
This species is believed to have diverged from its New Zealand counterparts approximately 4.1Mya. It then diverged from "Jovellana violacea" about 1.0Mya.
Description.
"Jovellana punctata" is a semi-evergreen plant that has red stems with toothed, bright green leaves.
Its flowers are white, light pink or light lilac and can grow up to be 1.5m tall and can spread 0.6m.
It is said to have a minty-spicy fragrance.
Cultivation.
This plant can be propagated with stem tip cuttings.
It prefers to grow in loamless, fertile soil under direct sunlight. It should be watered regularly.
This species is said to grow well with "Jovellana violacea", a closely related species.


Melpomene brevipes

Melpomene brevipes is an extremely rare and possibly extinct species of fern in the family Polypodiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is estimated that there are less than 5 ferns, if they are still existing


Cuscuta japonica

Cuscuta japonica, commonly known as Japanese dodder, is a parasitic vine. It has been listed by the State of California as a noxious weed. It has a range of effects on its host and has repeatedly been introduced to the United States of America. "C. japonica" looks very similar to other vines, making it difficult to distinguish.
Effects on host.
The Japanese dodder is a plant that parasitizes other plants. From mild development issues to serious complications sometimes resulting in death, the Japanese dodder can cause a wide spectrum of effects on its plant host. Farmers in particular can be affected by this plant, as infection leads to less crops they are able to harvest.
Morphology.
"Cuscuta japonica" shares a similar morphology to vines, displaying stems that are mostly yellow with bits of red along it. The Japanese dodder also exhibits small flowers that are "pale-yellow to cream" in color and contain one circular stigma. Any leaves it has are very small and "scale-like" in shape and texture. Fruit produced are small and capsule-like, only carrying a couple of seeds.
History.
"Cuscuta japonica" can be found non-invasively in a variety of places on the continent of Asia. The plant was introduced and reintroduced to the United States of America multiple times starting from the 1940s under the guise of a medicinal plant, and was thought to have been eradicated a couple of times.


Roepera billardierei

Roepera billardierei, synonym Zygophyllum billardierei, commonly known as coast twin-leaf, is a species of plant in the family Zygophyllaceae found in temperate regions of Australia. In Tasmania, where it has only been recorded from the Furneaux Group in Bass Strait, it is listed as Rare under the state's Threatened Species Protection Act 1995.
Description.
Coast twin-leaf is a perennial herb with stems that spread over the ground. The stems are branched and 20–40 mm long. The leaves are Y-shaped, with blunt tips, and up to 15 mm long. The flowers are yellow and about 10 mm long. The fruit is a drooping four-angled capsule about 10–12 mm long, containing brown seeds. It is a scrambling plant which is found in both sheltered and exposed coastal sites where it stabilises loose sand on dunes.


Hippocastanaceae


Syzygiella

Syzygiella is a genus of liverworts belonging to the family Jungermanniaceae.
Species:


Acalyphoideae

The Acalyphoideae are a subfamily within the family Euphorbiaceae with 116 genera in 20 tribes.


Rhipiliaceae

Rhipiliaceae is a family of green algae in the order Bryopsidales.


Needhamiella

Needhamiella is a monotypic genus in the family Ericaceae. The sole species, Needhamiella pumilio, is a small shrub that is endemic to Western Australia.
The genus was first formally described in 1810 by botanist Robert Brown who gave it the name "Needhamia". This was subsequently declared an illegitimate name as Italian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli had assigned it to a genus in the family Leguminosae in 1777. In 1965 the genus was given the revised name "Needhamiella".


Acroschisma

Acroschisma is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Andreaeaceae.
The species of this genus are found in Southern America.
Species:


Alsophila dicksonioides

Alsophila dicksonioides, synonym Cyathea dicksonioides, is a species of tree fern native to northeastern New Guinea, where it grows in grassland at an altitude of 2600–2900 m. It is a relatively uncommon species. The erect trunk may be 3 m tall or more and about 20 cm in diameter. Fronds are bi- or tripinnate and approximately 1 m long. They are erect and bristly, forming an irregular crown. The fronds occur in two whorls of 10-12 fronds each, with the inner of the two whorls bending downward towards the trunk. The stipe is covered with glossy scales that have narrow, pale and fragile edges. Two to four sori occur per fertile pinnule. They are covered by firm, pale indusia that are hood-like in appearance.


Lathyrus latifolius

Lathyrus latifolius, the perennial peavine, perennial pea, broad-leaved everlasting-pea, or just everlasting pea, is a robust, sprawling herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe but is present on other continents, such as North America and Australia, where it is most often seen along roadsides.
Morphology.
"Lathyrus latifolius" has winged hairless stems, and alternating blue green compound leaves consisting of a single pair of leaflets and a winged petiole about 2 in long. The leaflets are narrowly ovate or oblong-ovate, smooth along the margins, hairless and up to 3 in long and 1 in across. There is a branched tendril between the leaflets.
Racemes.
Short racemes of 4–11 flowers are produced from the axils of the leaves. The flowers, which are unscented, are about –1 in across with a typical structure for "Faboideae", with an upper standard and lower keel, enclosed by lateral petals. There are 5 petals, which are purplish pink, fading with age. There is a green calyx with 5 teeth, often unequal. The blooming period lasts about 2 months during the summer and early autumn.
Seeds.
The flowers are replaced by hairless flattened seedpods, about 2 in long and  in wide, with several seeds inside. The seedpod, which is initially green, gradually turns brown, splitting open into curled segments, flinging out the seeds. The seeds are dark and oblong to reniform in shape.
Reproduction.
"Lathyrus latifolius" can reproduce vegetatively from its taproot and rhizomes, or by reseeding.
Cultivation and habits.
"Lathyrus latifolius" is a perennial herbaceous vine (climber), which can reach 6 feet or more by means of twining tendrils, but in open areas sprawls. It is frost-hardy, long-lived, and slowly spreading. The foliage becomes rather ragged and yellowish by the end of summer.
It requires partial to full sun, and loam or clay-loam soil that is moist, mesic, or slightly dry. Unlike the related annual sweet pea, "Lathyrus odoratus", with which it may be confused, it has no scent. While grown as a garden plant it may be pervasive and difficult to remove. Because of this, this species is often considered to be a weed despite its attractive appearance.
Numerous cultivars have been selected as garden subjects, of which the following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:
Relations to insect life.
Bumblebees pollinate the flowers. Butterflies visit the flowers for their nectar, but do not pollinate. "Epicauta fabricii" (Fabricius blister beetle), the caterpillars of "Grammia oithona" (Oithona tiger moth) and some herbivores feed on the leaves. However, the seeds are poisonous.


Dampiera alata

Dampiera alata is a plant in the family Goodeniaceae, native to Western Australia.
Description.
"Dampiera alata" is a perennial herb growing up to 40 cm, with no surface covering except on the inflorescence. The stems are flat and winged, and 3 to 13 mm wide with distinct ribs on each wing's margin. The leaves are sessile (i.e., not on stalks) and the leaf blades are 18 to 49 mm by 3.5 to 16 mm. The flowers are in panicles, with the inflorescence branches usually being solitary. The bracteoles are covered with dense intertwined hairs and 2.5 to 4 mm long. The sepals are mostly hidden by hairs, are ovate to elliptic, and 1 to 1.5 mm long. The corolla is 12 to 16 mm long, with hairs on the outside. The ovary (2-2.5 mm long) is humped, swollen on one side, and sometimes covered in dense intertwined hairs. The fruit is 3-4 mm diam, and humped, (swollen on one side), wrinkled, and hairy. It flowers mainly from August to November.
Distribution and habitat.
It is found in south-west Western Australia, on sand plains.
Taxonomy & etymology.
It was first described by John Lindley in 1839. The specific epithet, "alata", is a Latin adjective, "alatus", "-a", "um", meaning "having wings", or "winged".


Arlington Oak


Lithocarpus bancanus

Lithocarpus bancanus is a tree in the beech family Fagaceae. The specific epithet "" is from the Latin, meaning "of Bangka" (an island east of Sumatra).
Description.
"Lithocarpus bancanus" grows as a tree up to tall with a trunk diameter of up to . The yellowish to greyish brown bark is smooth to scaly. The leaves measure up to long. Its brownish acorns are ovoid to roundish and measure up to long.
Distribution and habitat.
"Lithocarpus bancanus" grows naturally in Thailand, Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. Its habitat is hill dipterocarp and sometimes peat swamp forests up to altitude.


Chylismiella

Chylismiella pterosperma is a species of evening primrose known by the common name wingfruit suncup and is the only species in the monotypic genus Chylismiella. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in several habitat types, including sagebrush. It is a slender annual herb producing an erect stem up to about 14 centimeters in height. The leaves are up to 3 centimeters long and densely coated in bristly hairs. The nodding inflorescence produces flowers with white petals each less than 3 millimeters long. They are sometimes yellow near the bases and fade to a purple color as they wither. The fruit is a straight capsule about 1 to 3 centimeters long with a thick wing down the middle.


Eulocymbidiella

×Eulocymbidiella, abbreviated in trade journals Eucmla, is an intergeneric hybrid between the orchid genera "Cymbidiella" and "Eulophiella" (Cymla × Eul).


Echinodorus grandiflorus

Echinodorus grandiflorus is a plant species in the Alismataceae. It is native to Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela and Florida.
Description.
Emerse leaves erect, long-petioled, 80–120 cm long. Blade ovate, at the tip shortly acuminate, at the base abrupt, or regularly oval, at the tip blunt or incised, 15 – 26 cm x 7 – 15 cm wide with 7 - 13 veins and distinct pellucid lines. Submersed leaves on short petioles, blades oval or ovate, on both ends acuminate or blunt. Stem erect, 90 – 150 cm long, sparse and inconspicuously warted, inflorescence paniculate, broadly branched in the lower whorl, having 5 - 12 whorls containing 6 - 12 flowers each. Bracts shorter or longer than the pedicels. Pedicels 1 - 2.5 cm long, sepals broadly ovate, ribbed, 4 – 6 mm long, petals white, corolla 3 – 4 cm in diameter. Stamens usually 24. Aggregate fruit globular, shortly echinate, achenes compressed, 3 mm long x 1 mm wide, having 3 - 5 ribs and 3 glands placed usually in one row, beak 0.4 - 0.5 mm long. Veins are often dark reddish-brown and the blade may have reddish-brown irregular spots.
Cultivation.
Needs a deep rich substrate and good light. Will withstand sub-tropical - tropical temperatures. A strong grower, too big for the average aquarium, the leaves soon growing out of the water. In the wild it grows in sticky mud along rivers. Rataj reports hybrids with "E. grandiflorus "and" E. longiscapus" which have mixed features. Supplement with iron and CO2 if possible. Seems to prefer soft to hard water.
Seems to bloom best in cooler water and in short-day conditions.
Apparently rarely found in the trade, the majority (if not all) specimens being offered being E. palaefolius.


Litsea australis

Litsea australis, the brown bollygum or brown bollywood is a species of rainforest tree in the laurel family, found in eastern Australia. The specific epithet "australis" means "southern". As this southern population was considered to be Litsea leefeana, until reclassified by the rainforest botanist Bernie Hyland in 1989. This species is found in a variety of different rainforest types, but often seen growing near the sea. Distributed from Forster, New South Wales in the south to Fraser Island in Queensland.
Description.
A small to medium sized tree, up to 20 metres tall. The base of the tree is sometimes buttressed in larger individuals. Bark is rough and irregular, a reddish brown colour. Young shoots are hairy. Leaves are elliptical in shape, alternate on the stem. 8 to 13 cm long with a blunt tip, rarely to 20 cm long. The underside of the leaf is green with brown hairs. Leaf stalks 8 to 15 mm long. Leaf venation is prominent on both sides of the leaf. Tiny green or cream colour flowers form from January to June. Male and female flowers grow on separate trees. The fruit is a black drupe, eaten by a variety of rainforest birds.
Food plant.
Butterfly larvae and birds use this plant as a food source. Such as the wompoo fruit dove, rose-crowned fruit dove, purple moonbeam and blue triangle butterfly.


Dacryodes macrocarpa

Dacryodes macrocarpa is a tree in the family Burseraceae. The specific epithet "" is from the Greek meaning "large fruit".
Description.
"Dacryodes macrocarpa" grows as a medium-sized to tall tree. The bark is reddish brown and cracked. The ovoid or ellipsoid fruits measure up to long.
Distribution and habitat.
"Dacryodes macrocarpa" grows naturally in Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. Its habitat is coastal and swamp forests.


Saccolomatineae


Comesperma sphaerocarpum

Comesperma sphaerocarpum, commonly known as the broom milkwort, is an Australian plant in the milkwort family. Inconspicuous unless in flower, it grows from high. The stems are ridged and usually leafless, and arise from the plant's woody base. The rarely seen leaves are at the base of the shoot. They are thick in texture, and measure 8 mm long by 2 mm wide. This plant first appeared in scientific literature in "Plantae Preissianae" in 1846, authored by the German botanist Joachim Steetz.
Endemic to New South Wales, "Comesperma sphaerocarpum" is found along the tablelands and coast, from Warialda in the north to Nowra. In the Sydney region it is found in the Munmorah State Conservation Area, Royal, Lane Cove and Brisbane Water National Parks and other bushland reserves.
The habitat is sandy soils in heathland or low eucalyptus country, sometimes in high rainfall areas. The specific epithet "sphaerocarpum" is from the Ancient Greek, referring to the ball-shaped fruit. The attractive violet or blue flowers form from October to May. The width of the flower is around . The fruit is somewhat broadly triangular or round, and tapers to the stem, although not as prominently tapered as are other plants in this genus. The fruit is 4 mm long.
Its habit distinguishes it from the related pink matchheads or heath milkwort ("Comesperma ericinum") which has erect stems, and the love creeper ("Comesperma volubile") which has a twining habit.
In cultivation this plant prefers sunny situations in moist infertile soils.


Ilex uraiensis

Ilex uraiensis is a species of plant in the family Aquifoliaceae. It is endemic to Taiwan.


Dombeyoideae

Dombeyoideae is a widely distributed subfamily of the Malvaceae, as proposed by the APG. Most of the plants placed here were once assembled with more or less related genera in the paraphyletic Sterculiaceae; a lesser number were placed in the Tiliaceae which were also not monophyletic.
The Dombeyoideae were originally described by Carl Beilschmied in 1833. In the present delimitation, they contain roughly 20 genera with about 380 species, some 60% of which are in "Dombeya" (one of the most speciose genera of Malvaceae). They grow in the Old World tropics, especially Madagascar and the Mascarenes where about two-thirds of the species occur. In the Mascarenes, they are among the most diverse angiosperm groups, analogous to such (unrelated) plants as the aeoniums on the Canary Islands or the silversword alliance of the Hawaiian Islands.
The subfamily is sometimes further divided into tribes (Corchoropsideae, Dombeyeae, Eriolaeneae, Helmiopsideae), but this is more often considered unwarranted. Probably, most or all of these supposed subdivisions are not monophyletic and thus technically synonyms of the whole subfamily.
Several species are noted for their beautiful timber which is used for inlays and other artwork. Others – namely from the type genus "Dombeya" – are popular ornamental plants due to their beautiful flowers. "Trochetia" is famous for the peculiar coloured nectar it can produce, and it often is pollinated by "Phelsuma" geckos.
Selected genera.
Genera of Dombeyoideae include:


Daphniphyllaceae


Gymnocalycium robustum

Gymnocalycium robustum is a species of "Gymnocalycium" from northern Córdoba and southern Santiago del Estero, Argentina.


Lithops vallis-mariae

Lithops vallis-mariae is a species of plant in the family Aizoaceae. It is endemic to Namibia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss.


Pyrolaceae


Oxalis brasiliensis

Oxalis brasiliensis, also known by its common name Brazilian woodsorrel is a species from the section "Ionoxalis". It was first described by Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga.
Description.
Oxalis brasiliensis is a herbaceous, perennial plant with a very long but simple root and very small stems. It has yellow or brilliant crimson-purple flowers.


Charles Reid Barnes

Charles Reid Barnes (1858-1910) was an American botanist specializing in bryophytes (mosses, liverworts and hornworts). He was co-editor of the "Botanical Gazette" for over 25 years.
Barnes was born at Madison, Indiana, September 7, 1858. He graduated from Hanover College in 1877, and afterward studied at Harvard University, where he became friends with Asa Gray.  After teaching in public schools for a few years, he became professor of botany at Purdue University in 1882.  In 1887 he was called to the University of Wisconsin, and for eleven years developed and maintained a vigorous department of botany in that institution. In 1898 he became professor of plant physiology at the University of Chicago, and completed twenty-eight years as a university professor.  At Hanover College he met John Merle Coulter as his instructor in botany, and from that time they became intimately associated, first as joint editors of the Botanical Gazette, and later as colleagues in the same university.
He became a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1884 and a fellow in 1885; was secretary of the botanical section in 1894, secretary of the council in 1895, general secretary in 1896, and vice-president (chairman) of the botanical section in 1898, giving his retiring address at Columbus in 1899 on “The progress and problems of plant physiology.”  He was secretary of the Botanical Society of America from its organization in 1894 to 1898, and became its president in 1903, giving his retiring address at Philadelphia in 1904 on "The theory of respiration."  In 1905 he was a delegate from the botanical section of the American Association to the International Botanical Congress at Vienna.
The term 'photosynthesis' was coined by him in 1893.
In 1883 Barnes became co-editor of the "Botanical Gazette", a position he held for 27 years.
Barnes died in Chicago, on February 24, 1910, from injuries sustained in an accidental fall.


Calochortoideae

The Calochortoideae are a subfamily of monocotyledon perennial, herbaceous mainly bulbous flowering plants in the lily family, Liliaceae.
Approximately the same group of species has been recognized as a separate family, Calochortaceae, in a few systems of plant taxonomy, including the Dahlgren system. They are found predominantly in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly East Asia and North America.
Description.
Flowers large with no or a very short style. Perianth differentiated into calyx and corolla, tepals pubescent. The embryo-sac is of the Polygonum-type. Fruit forms a septicidal capsule. Leaves have parallel venation. Chromosome number is between 6-13, and are 1.5 to 6.5µmin length.
Taxonomy.
The two genera comprise about 90 species but the situation remains uncertain as to whether both should be included. Originally "Calochortus" and "Tricyrtis" were considered to be sister clades and placed together in the subfamily Calochortoideae. Further study has not confirmed this and it has been proposed that "Tricyrtis" be placed in a separate subfamily.


Epilobium torreyi

Epilobium torreyi is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names Torrey's willowherb and brook spike-primrose. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in many types of habitat, often in moist areas. It is a hairy annual herb producing a narrow, upright stem often exceeding half a meter tall lined with narrow lance-shaped leaves. The hairy, glandular inflorescence bears tiny white or pink flowers. They are usually cleistogamous, remaining closed and self-pollinating. The fruit is a capsule up to about a centimeter long.


Ferocactus haematacanthus

Ferocactus haematacanthus is a species of "Ferocactus" from Mexico.


Pentaphragmataceae


Chimonanthus nitens

Chimonanthus nitens is a species of the genus of wintersweets "Chimonanthus" and member of the family Calycanthaceae (syn. "Meratia nitens" (Oliver) Rehder & Wilson; "C. campanulatus" R.H.Chang & C.S.Ding; "C. grammatus" M.C.Liu; "C. zhejangensis" M.C.Liu).
Description.
An evergreen shrub that grows up to 6 m tall, with leaves 2–18 cm long and 1.5–8 cm broad, and white to yellow flowers that appear in winter and are only slightly scented if at all.
Distribution.
Source:


Selaginella pulcherrima

Selaginella pulcherrima is a species of plant in the family Selaginellaceae.


Lithops aucampiae

Lithops aucampiae is a species of flowering plant in the family Aizoaceae, found in South Africa. it was named after Juanita Aucamp, who found a specimen on her father's farm in Postmasburg, Northern Cape in 1929.
Habitat.
This desert plant is found in areas of ironstone, with sandstone, chert and quartzite in Transvaal, South Africa. This is an area of summer rainfall.
Appearance.
Although variable in appearance, it nevertheless conforms to the typical "Lithops" morphology: two thick, fleshy leaves (each with a large leaf window to allow light into the underground part of the plant), separated by a crack from which a yellow flower appears. In the variety "koelemanii" the window and the groove are reduced.
Cultivation.
It is commonly used as a houseplant or for landscaping. Like all "Lithops", it requires extremely well-drained soil.
Like all "Lithops" it also grows in annual cycles, as the leaf-pairs flower, and then each produces a new leaf-pair that replaces the old one (which shrivels away). The principal rule of watering is that "Lithops" should be kept dry from when they finish flowering, up until the old leaf-pairs are fully replaced.
Of the "Lithops" species, "L. aucampiae" is one of the species which is most tolerant of occasional incorrect watering, and therefore among the easiest to cultivate (together with "L.lesliei", "L.hookeri" and "L.salicola").
This plant has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Polygaloides paucifolia

Polygaloides paucifolia, synonym Polygala paucifolia, known as gaywings or fringed polygala, is a perennial plant of the family Polygalaceae.
Mature plants are 3 to 6 inches tall. Stems are smooth, slender and green. Leaves are clustered at the top, appearing to be whorled, but they are not. Leaflets are oblong to lanceolate—narrow at the base with a pointed tip. Leaves have an entire margin and are thin.
Flowers are pink and white, blooming in April and May.
The species was first described, as "Polygala paucifolia", by Carl Ludwig Willdenow in 1802. In 2011, John Richard Abbott divided up part of the genus "Polygala" into more sharply defined genera. He placed "P. paucifolia" in "Polygaloides" as "Polygaloides paucifolia".


Arabidopsis arenosa

Arabidopsis arenosa, the sand rock-cress, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is found mostly in Central Europe in both a diploid and an autotetraploid form. This sets it apart from the other, mostly diploid, "Arabidopsis" species including the closely related "Arabidopsis lyrata" or "Arabidopsis thaliana," the model plant species.


Calandrinia breweri

Calandrinia breweri is a species of flowering plant in the family Montiaceae known by the common name Brewer's redmaids.
It is native to the coastal mountains and canyons of California and Baja California, where it grows in several types of habitat, including recently burned and otherwise disturbed areas.
Description.
"Calandrinia breweri" is an annual herb producing thick, hairless stems up to 45 centimeters long which may grow upright or sprawl along the ground. The thick leaves are oval to spoon-shaped and up to 8 centimeters long.
The inflorescence is a raceme of bright red to pink flowers, each on a long pedicel. Each flower has generally five petals which are under half a centimeter long.
The fruit is a capsule containing 10 to 15 seeds which are finely bumpy under magnification.


Succubous

The succubous is the way that the leaves of a liverwort are attached to the stem. If one were to look down from above (dorsal side) on a plant where the leaf attachment is "succubous", the lower edge of each leaf would overlap the next lower leaf along the stem. Because of this, the lower edge of each leaf is visible from above, but the edge of the leaf closer to the tip of the stem is obscured by a neighboring leaf. The opposite of "succubous" is incubous.


Albugo laibachii

Albugo laibachii is a species of oomycete, whose genome has recently (2011) been sequenced. It is a plant pathogen of "Arabidopsis thaliana". "Albugo laibachii" also causes the host plant to become more susceptible to other parasites, when it normally would be more resistant, wearing down the host plant's immune system.


Cyclocarya

Cyclocarya is a genus of flowering plants in the family Juglandaceae, comprising a single species Cyclocarya paliurus (qing qian liu or wheel wingnut), formerly treated in the genus "Pterocarya" as "Pterocarya paliurus". It is native to eastern and central China.
It is a deciduous tree growing to 30 m tall. The foliage is similar to "Pterocarya", with pinnate leaves 20–25 cm long with five to eleven leaflets, the terminal leaflet present; the leaflets are 5–14 cm long and 2–6 cm broad. The flowers are catkins; the male (pollen) catkins are produced in clusters (not singly as in "Pterocarya"), the female catkins 25–30 cm long at maturity, bearing several small winged nuts with a circular wing 2.5–6 cm diameter right round the nut (instead of two wings at the sides as in "Pterocarya").
Fossil record.
20 fossil endocarps of †"Cyclocarya nemejcii" from the early Miocene, have been found in the Kristina Mine at Hrádek nad Nisou in North Bohemia, the Czech Republic. Described first from the Middle Miocene of Japan †"Cyclocarya ezoana" is also known from the Middle Miocene Seldovia Point Flora of Alaska. 10 Ma old fossil leaflets that are very similar to it have been found in Tröllatunga-Gautshamar Formation in Iceland. The Icelandic fossils and †"C. ezoana" are similarb to †"C. cyclocarpa" from the Early Miocene of Germany.


Bhesa paniculata

Bhesa paniculata is a species of plant in the Centroplacaceae family. It is found in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. It is sometimes considered a synonym of "Bhesa indica".