Cecarria | |
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Close-up of foliage | |
Scientific classification
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Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Santalales |
Family: | Loranthaceae |
Genus: |
Cecarria Barlow |
Species: | C. obtusifolia
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Binomial name | |
Cecarria obtusifolia | |
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Occurrence data from GBIF | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Cecarria is a monotypic genus in the family Loranthaceae. The sole species is Cecarria obtusifolia, a hemiparasitic aerial shrub. [1]
Cecarria obtusifolia is an aerial, stem-parasitic shrub, and like species in the genus Muellerina, it has epicortical runners. [3] It is glabrous throughout. [4] The obovate or broadly obovate [3] leaves are opposite, curvinerved, and rounded at the apex. [3] The leaf blades are 30–55 mm long and 20–45 mm wide, and attenuate into an obscure petiole 2–6 mm long. [5] The inflorescence is axillary, with and a two-flowered umbel or a four-flowered raceme or spike; there are nearly orbicular bracts [5] beneath each flower. [3] The flower has six free petals. The stamens are nearly equal, and the anthers are dorsifixed and versatile, [3] having a short sterile tip with the free part of the filament about 2 mm long. [5]
The peduncle is 6–9 mm long and up to 20 mm when the inflorescence is a raceme. The flowers are sessile or on pedicels up to 3 mm long. The calyx is entire and 0.5–1 mm long. The ivory-white corolla in mature bud is 10–14 mm long and slightly club-shaped. The fruit is almost spherical and about 8 mm long. [5]
Cecarria obtusifolia occurs in the Philippines, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and in Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia, [3] and also in the Lesser Sunda Islands and Bougainville (New Guinea). [6] The genus is thought to be a relictual Gondwanan entity. [3]
In Australia it occurs in the McIlwraith Range area in Queensland, growing in rainforest. Recorded hosts include plants in the genera: Calophyllum, Casuarina, [7] and Syzygium, and Xanthostemon. [5] [7]
The species was first described by Elmer Drew Merrill as Phrygilanthus obtusifolius in 1906. [5] [4] In 1973, Bryan Barlow redescribed it, assigning it to the new genus, Cecarria, and the name thus became C. obtusifolia. [1] [2] The current accepted description is that of Barlow in 1984. [1] [8]
The genus Cecarria is named for Cedric Errol Carr (1892–1936). [3] The leaves, which are blunt and rounded at the apex (tip), gave rise to the latin-derived name, obtusifolia, meaning "obtuse-leaved". [9]
It is considered to be "Not Threatened" (NT) in Queensland under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 of Queensland. [10]
Cecarria | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Close-up of foliage | |
Scientific classification
![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Santalales |
Family: | Loranthaceae |
Genus: |
Cecarria Barlow |
Species: | C. obtusifolia
|
Binomial name | |
Cecarria obtusifolia | |
![]() | |
Occurrence data from GBIF | |
Synonyms [1] | |
|
Cecarria is a monotypic genus in the family Loranthaceae. The sole species is Cecarria obtusifolia, a hemiparasitic aerial shrub. [1]
Cecarria obtusifolia is an aerial, stem-parasitic shrub, and like species in the genus Muellerina, it has epicortical runners. [3] It is glabrous throughout. [4] The obovate or broadly obovate [3] leaves are opposite, curvinerved, and rounded at the apex. [3] The leaf blades are 30–55 mm long and 20–45 mm wide, and attenuate into an obscure petiole 2–6 mm long. [5] The inflorescence is axillary, with and a two-flowered umbel or a four-flowered raceme or spike; there are nearly orbicular bracts [5] beneath each flower. [3] The flower has six free petals. The stamens are nearly equal, and the anthers are dorsifixed and versatile, [3] having a short sterile tip with the free part of the filament about 2 mm long. [5]
The peduncle is 6–9 mm long and up to 20 mm when the inflorescence is a raceme. The flowers are sessile or on pedicels up to 3 mm long. The calyx is entire and 0.5–1 mm long. The ivory-white corolla in mature bud is 10–14 mm long and slightly club-shaped. The fruit is almost spherical and about 8 mm long. [5]
Cecarria obtusifolia occurs in the Philippines, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and in Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia, [3] and also in the Lesser Sunda Islands and Bougainville (New Guinea). [6] The genus is thought to be a relictual Gondwanan entity. [3]
In Australia it occurs in the McIlwraith Range area in Queensland, growing in rainforest. Recorded hosts include plants in the genera: Calophyllum, Casuarina, [7] and Syzygium, and Xanthostemon. [5] [7]
The species was first described by Elmer Drew Merrill as Phrygilanthus obtusifolius in 1906. [5] [4] In 1973, Bryan Barlow redescribed it, assigning it to the new genus, Cecarria, and the name thus became C. obtusifolia. [1] [2] The current accepted description is that of Barlow in 1984. [1] [8]
The genus Cecarria is named for Cedric Errol Carr (1892–1936). [3] The leaves, which are blunt and rounded at the apex (tip), gave rise to the latin-derived name, obtusifolia, meaning "obtuse-leaved". [9]
It is considered to be "Not Threatened" (NT) in Queensland under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 of Queensland. [10]