Post by Melanie on Mar 26, 2007 16:07:13 GMT 1
Status : Extinct
Species : Trilepidea adamsii
Authority : Trilepidea adamsii (Cheeseman) Tiegham
Qualifier :
Family : Loranthaceae
Common Name : Adams mistletoe
Distribution : Endemic. North Island only, where it was once found from the Waipoua River to the Waikato and Coromandel Peninsula. Also recorded from Great Barrier and Waiheke Islands. Historic records indicate that this species was never common. The last specimen to be collected was made in 1954 from Sanitorium Hill (Maungakawa) in the Pakaroa Range, east of Cambridge.
Habitat : Semi-parasitic on mamangi and other Coprosma species, red mapou, and wharangi, probably restricted to coastal and lowland kauri forest margins and associated open, seral shrubland.
Features : Hemi-parasitic, glabrous, shrub up to 1 m diam. Branchlets terete. Leaves opposite, sessile or on stout petioles 2 mm long. Lamina (10-)50(-60) x 30(-40) mm, dark green above, pale green or reddish beneath; fleshy-coriaceous, broadly obovate, obovate, elliptic-oblong to rhomboid, margins recurved, veins indistinct. Inflorescence axillary, 2-4-flowered cymes. Peduncles stout, fleshy, almost woody, 10-15 mm. Flowers 30-40 mm long, sessile to subsessile, subtended by a small bract and two bracteoles. Receptacle-rim minutely 4-toothed. Tepals 4, greenish-yellow with marginal red stripes soon fading to a uniform pinkish-red, initially dilated at middle, splitting for c.1/4 length, often with dorsal split to base. Anthers narrow, basifixed, style initially = to perianth length, but elongating well beyond tepals at anthesis. Stigma capitate. Fruit red, fleshy, ellipsoid, 8-9 mm long. Hosts: Coprosma arborea Kirk, Melicope ternata J.R.Forst et G.Forst. and Myrsine australis (A.Rich.) Allan.
Similar Species : Ileostylus micranthus has flattened young branchlets almost square in cross-section, leaves are broader and green, the tiny flowers are yellow-green, borne in the leaf axils, and possess a ‘bent’ style. Tupeia antarctica has tiny, green-yellow flowers with white or pink fruit and greyish-white branchlets are covered in short, soft hairs. Peraxilla tetrapetala has ‘blistered’ diamond-shaped leaves, red flowers and yellow fruit. P. colensoi has scarlet flowers and yellow fruit.
Flowering : (September-) October (-November)
Fruiting : November - December
Synonyms : Loranthus adamsii Cheeseman, Elytranthe adamsii (Cheeseman) Engl., Trilepidea ralphii Tiegham
Propagation Technique : Unknown.
Threats : Habitat loss, over-collecting, loss of pollinators, loss of dispersers, and possum browse have all been proposed as contributing to the extinction of this species.
Where to Buy : Extinct.
Chromosome No. :
Endemic Taxon : Yes
Endemic Genus : Yes
Endemic Family : No
Cultural Use/Importance : Indications are that this species is probably extinct. Specific searches of all known past locations have been conducted at various times over the last 30 years. Ad hoc surveys of likely habitats have also been undertaken. If it still survives it will now be very vulnerable to possums, which were not as widespread as they are now within the former range of Trilepidea.
* Please note that Common Names are not standardised.
Species : Trilepidea adamsii
Authority : Trilepidea adamsii (Cheeseman) Tiegham
Qualifier :
Family : Loranthaceae
Common Name : Adams mistletoe
Distribution : Endemic. North Island only, where it was once found from the Waipoua River to the Waikato and Coromandel Peninsula. Also recorded from Great Barrier and Waiheke Islands. Historic records indicate that this species was never common. The last specimen to be collected was made in 1954 from Sanitorium Hill (Maungakawa) in the Pakaroa Range, east of Cambridge.
Habitat : Semi-parasitic on mamangi and other Coprosma species, red mapou, and wharangi, probably restricted to coastal and lowland kauri forest margins and associated open, seral shrubland.
Features : Hemi-parasitic, glabrous, shrub up to 1 m diam. Branchlets terete. Leaves opposite, sessile or on stout petioles 2 mm long. Lamina (10-)50(-60) x 30(-40) mm, dark green above, pale green or reddish beneath; fleshy-coriaceous, broadly obovate, obovate, elliptic-oblong to rhomboid, margins recurved, veins indistinct. Inflorescence axillary, 2-4-flowered cymes. Peduncles stout, fleshy, almost woody, 10-15 mm. Flowers 30-40 mm long, sessile to subsessile, subtended by a small bract and two bracteoles. Receptacle-rim minutely 4-toothed. Tepals 4, greenish-yellow with marginal red stripes soon fading to a uniform pinkish-red, initially dilated at middle, splitting for c.1/4 length, often with dorsal split to base. Anthers narrow, basifixed, style initially = to perianth length, but elongating well beyond tepals at anthesis. Stigma capitate. Fruit red, fleshy, ellipsoid, 8-9 mm long. Hosts: Coprosma arborea Kirk, Melicope ternata J.R.Forst et G.Forst. and Myrsine australis (A.Rich.) Allan.
Similar Species : Ileostylus micranthus has flattened young branchlets almost square in cross-section, leaves are broader and green, the tiny flowers are yellow-green, borne in the leaf axils, and possess a ‘bent’ style. Tupeia antarctica has tiny, green-yellow flowers with white or pink fruit and greyish-white branchlets are covered in short, soft hairs. Peraxilla tetrapetala has ‘blistered’ diamond-shaped leaves, red flowers and yellow fruit. P. colensoi has scarlet flowers and yellow fruit.
Flowering : (September-) October (-November)
Fruiting : November - December
Synonyms : Loranthus adamsii Cheeseman, Elytranthe adamsii (Cheeseman) Engl., Trilepidea ralphii Tiegham
Propagation Technique : Unknown.
Threats : Habitat loss, over-collecting, loss of pollinators, loss of dispersers, and possum browse have all been proposed as contributing to the extinction of this species.
Where to Buy : Extinct.
Chromosome No. :
Endemic Taxon : Yes
Endemic Genus : Yes
Endemic Family : No
Cultural Use/Importance : Indications are that this species is probably extinct. Specific searches of all known past locations have been conducted at various times over the last 30 years. Ad hoc surveys of likely habitats have also been undertaken. If it still survives it will now be very vulnerable to possums, which were not as widespread as they are now within the former range of Trilepidea.
* Please note that Common Names are not standardised.
