Explosive New Zealand Mistletoe Example, 4 of 7 Flowers on Sheet AK103910)

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Explosive New Zealand Mistletoe Example, 4 of 7 Flowers on Sheet AK103910) SCIENTIFIC CORRESPONDENCE pattern, as do herbarium sheets (for Explosive New Zealand mistletoe example, 4 of 7 flowers on sheet AK103910). Trilepidea almost certainly SIR- Many flowers of the mistletoe arium sheets show an even more special­ had more complex explosive flowers than Peraxilla tetrapetala (Loranthaceae) in New ized explosive mechanism than in Peraxilla. Peraxilla. Such specialization may have Zealand open from the bottom (f in the We discovered explosive flower opening rendered Trilepidea more sensitive to figure) rather than the top (d); Kuijtl called in both endemic New Zealand Peraxilla reduced bird densities due to introduced this an "unsolved mystery ... we cannot species when we noted that flower buds mammalian predators, contributing to its even guess at the meaning of this bizarre bagged for hand pollination almost never rapid and puzzling5 decline. performance." Here we report that flower opened (3/394 for P. tetrapetala, 1/82 for P. Explosive flower opening is well known buds of P. tetrapetala and P. colensoi open colensoi). The petals remained fused at the in other mistletoes6, including many of from the top only when twisted by top, while eventually undergoing abscis­ the 230 species in Africa3, and a few a bird, a form of 'explosive' flower open­ sion from their base (fin the figure). Field species in India7, Java, New Guinea and ing common in Africa but previously observations of unbagged flowers revealed South America1•6. However, this is the unknown in Australasia. Kuijt's "bizarre that they were opened by two native first report from Australasia. The New performance" is simply the consequence of honeyeaters (Meliphagidae ): tuis (Pros­ Zealand flora generally displays few flowers not being visited by birds. themadera novaeseelandiae; c in the figure) specialized pollination mechanisms8. We However, pollination in Peraxilla is possible and bellbirds (Anthomis me/anura). have shown that the two endemic Peraxilla without birds: unvisited flowers sometimes Both pollinators twisted only ripe buds; mistletoes, and probably also Trilepidea, self-pollinate when the petals undergo neither bird visited flowers that had already show very specialized omithophilous abscission from the bottom. opened. Nectar production schedules pollination. This has interesting bio­ The closely related Alepis flavida may discourage repeat visits, as Peraxilla buds geographical implications, as the New show how explosive opening evolved. Its already contain 70-98% of all the nectar Zealand Loranthaceae are generally flowers open unaided, but birds twist they will ever produce. Exclusion experi­ considered primitive9. buds to try and open them early. Another ments showed that the dependence of Our study also has implications for close relative, Trilepidea adamsii, is believed Peraxilla species on birds is not total, as conservation. First, if outbreeding benefits extinct, but historical paintings and herb- 22% of unopened flowers set seed. Peraxilla, bird populations must be main­ In A. flavida, bagged tained, or cross-pollination becomes a flowers opened normally impossible. Current bird populations are without the assistance of insufficient in some areas to open more birds. However, we saw a than a minority of Peraxilla flowers. bellbird twist A. flavida Second, learning by the birds may be buds in an unsuccessful important. In the North Island, Peraxilla attempt to hasten their populations have been reduced markedly opening; this suggests how by Australian brushtail possums (Trich­ explosive opening could osurus vulpecula) 10. In 1993-94, banding have evolved. Birds benefit of trees to exclude possums allowed more by being able to forage extensive flowering, but the flowers were e /Stigma .l n more efficiently, because largely ignored by bellbirds (S. Dopson, ;;_...--style buds have not had their personal communication), which may no # /Anther nectar harvested by any longer know how to open them. Finally, li other bird (or insect )2: posthumous recognition of explosive II" tamper-proof twist-top fast flowers in Trilepidea both sheds light on food for birds. The mistle­ its extinction and increases our sadness at toe may benefit through the fact. more faithful pollinator Jenny J. Ladley attention. Dave Kelly These discoveries in Plant and Microbial Sciences, h i Peraxilla led us to reconsid­ University of Canterbury, er the extinct Trilepidea Christchurch 1, New Zealand adamsii, once congeneric 1. Kuijt, J. The Biology of Parasitic Flowering Plants (Univ. with Peraxilla and Alepis. California Press, Los Angeles, 1969). ~t 2. Gill, F. B. & Wolf, L. L. Am. Nat. 109, 491-510 (1975). Study of pollination in 3. Polhill, R. M. in Tropical Forests (eds Holm-Nielsen, L. B. ·'-~· eta/.) 221-236 (Academic, London, 1989). extinct species is difficult, Explosive flower opening in the New Zealand mistletoe Peraxilla 4. Goulding, J. H. Fanny Osborne's Flower Paintings colensoi (a-f) and its possible precursor in A/epis f/avida (g-i). but paintings and herb­ (Heinemann, Auckland, 1983). P. co/ensoi: a, Unopened bud, mean length 47 mm. b. Bird (a tui) arium sheets show previ­ 5. Norton. D. A. Conserv. Bioi. 5(1), 52-57 (1991). grasps the top of a ripe bud with its beak and twists. c. After 6. Docters van Leeuwen. W. M. Beaufortia 4(41). 105-205 ously overlooked features (1954), 0.55 ± 0.10 s (mean± 95% confidence interval, from 23 video diagnostic of very complex 7. Davidar, P. Biotropica 15(1). 32-37 (1983). recordings), the flower explodes open, flinging pollen from the explosive flowers. In the 8. Webb. C. J. & Kelly. D. Trends Ecol. Eva/. 8(12), already-dehisced anthers, and the bird drinks nectar from the side 442-44 7 (1993). African Tapinanthus 3, ripe or above, pollinating the flower. d, Four hours after opening, petals 9. Barlow. B. A. in The Biology of Mistletoes (eds Calder, M. flower buds carry slits & Bernhardt, P.) 19-46 (Academic, Sydney, 1983). have folded back further. Birds ignore open flowers, which pro­ 10. Ogle, C. C. & Wilson, P. R. Forest Bird 16(3). 10-13 duce little nectar after the ripe-bud stage. e, Three days after (fenestrae), which are (1985). opening, petals fold back through 180°. f, Without a twist from a probed by a bird's beak, bird, the top of the flower never opens, but 4-8 days after bud causing the flower to unzip Scientific Correspondence ripening the petals undergo abscission from the base and pull the down that side. The stigma anthers over the top of the stigma, aiding self-pollination. Alepis swings outwards towards Scientific Correspondence is intended to flavida: this species does not have explosive flowers, and flowers the bird's head. The provide a forum in which readers may open unaided. However, impatient birds sometimes twist flowers raise points of a scientific character. to try and open them early. g, Unopened bud, mean length 20 painting of Trilepidea by Priority is given to letters of fewer than mm. h, Open flower on day of opening. i, Petals fold back within 2 Osborne4 shows flowers 500 words. days of opening. Drawings by T. Galloway. exactly matching this 766 NATURE · VOL 378 · 21/28 DECEMBER 1995 © 1995 Nature Publishing Group.
Recommended publications
  • Peraxilla Colensoi
    Peraxilla colensoi COMMON NAME Scarlet mistletoe, korukoru, pirita, roeroe SYNONYMS Elytranthe colensoi (Hook.f.) Engl. Loranthus colensoi Hook. f. FAMILY Loranthaceae AUTHORITY Peraxilla colensoi (Hook.f.) Tiegh. FLORA CATEGORY Vascular – Native ENDEMIC TAXON Yes ENDEMIC GENUS Yes Peraxilla colensoi, Catlins. Photographer: John Barkla ENDEMIC FAMILY No STRUCTURAL CLASS Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons NVS CODE PERCOL CHROMOSOME NUMBER 2n= 24 CURRENT CONSERVATION STATUS 2012 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: CD PREVIOUS CONSERVATION STATUSES 2009 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: CD 2004 | Gradual Decline BRIEF DESCRIPTION Fleshy shrub to 3m wide growing on outer branches of beech trees with glossy green fleshy paired leaves and masses of red tubular flowers. Leaves to 8cm long, smooth with a red edge. Flowers to 2.5cm long. Fallen petals litter forest floor under plants. Fruit yellow. Photographer: Brian Molloy DISTRIBUTION North and South Island, but common only in southern parts of the South Island. HABITAT A parasite mainly found in silver beech forest but has been recorded on 16 host species (9 exotic) in New Zealand including red beech and black beech. Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) and bellbird (Anthonis melanura) disperse this species in the North Island. FEATURES A shrub up to 3 m across. It parasitises further out on branches of its host than Peraxilla tetrapetala. The veins on leaves are hardly evident and only the midrib is conspicuous. Leaf tips are never notched and the leaves themselves are large and never blistered. The leaves sit in pairs on opposite sides of the stem and are thick and have a leathery texture. Leaf margins are usually smooth with red slightly rough margins.
    [Show full text]
  • Malaysia's Unique Biological Diversity: New Insights from Molecular Evolutionary Studies of Parasitic Flowering Plants
    Malaysia's Unique Biological Diversity: New Insights from Molecular Evolutionary Studies of Parasitic Flowering Plants Daniel L. Nickrent Department of Plant Biology Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL 62901-6509 e-mail: [email protected] October 2, 1995 ABSTRACT Malaysia is home to a rich assemblage of parasitic flowering plants representing seven families, 46 genera and approximately 100 species. These plants are seldom considered candidates for conservation efforts, however, many species are important components of the tropical ecosystem that show complex associations with other organisms and unique biochemical features. Results of a phylogenetic analysis of 29 members of Santalales using a combined dataset of nuclear-encoded 18S rDNA and plastid-encoded rbcL sequences are presented. Sequences from representatives of three nonphotosynthetic, holoparasitic families often allied with Santalales, Balanophoraceae, Hydnoraceae and Rafflesiaceae, have been obtained from nuclear-encoded 18S rDNA and plastid- encoded 16S rDNA. As with 18S rDNA, the 16S rDNA sequences from all three holoparasite families showed an increase in the number of substitutions. The greatest increases were seen in Mitrastema and Hydnora, greater than values obtained from pairwise comparisons involving taxa as phylogenetically distant as angiosperms and liverworts. A case is made that these plants represent unique natural genetic experiments that offer a wealth of opportunity for molecular genetic and phylogenetic analyses. 2 “We do not know enough about any gene, species, or ecosystem to be able to calculate its ecological and economic worth in the large scheme of things” (Ehrenfeld 1988) Why conserve parasitic plants? When considering the reasons for conservation of biodiversity, one inevitably concludes that all involve value judgments that are, in essence, anthropocentric.
    [Show full text]
  • Spatial Variation in Impacts of Brushtail Possums on Two Loranthaceous Mistletoe Species
    SWEETAPPLE:Available on-line at:POSSUM http://www.newzealandecology.org/nzje/ IMPACTS ON MISTLETOE 177 Spatial variation in impacts of brushtail possums on two Loranthaceous mistletoe species Peter J. Sweetapple Landcare Research, PO Box 40, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand (Email: [email protected]) Published on-line: 8 October 2008 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract: Browsing by introduced brushtail possums is linked to major declines in mistletoe abundance in New Zealand, yet in some areas mistletoes persist, apparently unaffected by the presence of possums. To determine the cause of this spatial variation in impact I investigated the abundance and condition (crown dieback and extent of possum browse cover) of two mistletoes (Alepis flavida, Peraxilla tetrapetala) and abundance and diet of possums in two mountain beech (Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides) forests in the central-eastern South Island of New Zealand. Mistletoe is common and there are long-established uncontrolled possum populations in both forests. Mistletoes were abundant (216–1359 per hectare) and important in possum diet (41–59% of total diet), but possum density was low (c. 2 per hectare) in both areas. Possum impacts were slight with low browse frequencies and intensities over much of the study sites. However, impacts were significantly greater at a forest margin, where possum abundance was highest, and at a high-altitude site where mistletoe density was lowest. Mistletoe crown dieback was inversely proportional to intensity of possum browsing. These results suggest that the persistence of abundant mistletoe populations at these sites is due to mistletoe productivity matching or exceeding consumption by possums in these forests of low possum-carrying _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________capacity, rather than low possum preference for the local mistletoe populations.
    [Show full text]
  • The Responses of New Zealand's Arboreal Forest Birds to Invasive
    The responses of New Zealand’s arboreal forest birds to invasive mammal control Nyree Fea A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Victoria University of Wellington Te Whare Wānanga o te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui 2018 ii This thesis was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Hartley (primary supervisor) School of Biological Sciences Victoria University of Wellington Wellington, New Zealand and Associate Professor Wayne Linklater (secondary supervisor) School of Biological Sciences Victoria University of Wellington Wellington, New Zealand iii iv Abstract Introduced mammalian predators are responsible for over half of contemporary extinctions and declines of birds. Endemic bird species on islands are particularly vulnerable to invasions of mammalian predators. The native bird species that remain in New Zealand forests continue to be threatened by predation from invasive mammals, with brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) ship rats (Rattus rattus) and stoats (Mustela erminea) identified as the primary agents responsible for their ongoing decline. Extensive efforts to suppress these pests across New Zealand’s forests have created “management experiments” with potential to provide insights into the ecological forces structuring forest bird communities. To understand the effects of invasive mammals on birds, I studied responses of New Zealand bird species at different temporal and spatial scales to different intensities of control and residual densities of mammals. In my first empirical chapter (Chapter 2), I present two meta-analyses of bird responses to invasive mammal control. I collate data from biodiversity projects across New Zealand where long-term monitoring of arboreal bird species was undertaken.
    [Show full text]
  • 2008 • Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand
    New Zealand Plant Conservation Network CELEBRATING OUR NATIVE PLANT LIFE Conference Proceedings 8-10 August 2008 • Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand Sponsored by Wellington and Hutt City Councils and the Department of Conservation and supported by Enviroschools and Te Papa Tongarewa www.nzpcn.org.nz This publication is the proceedings of the NZ Plant Conservation Network conference held at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand from 6-7th August 2008. The workshop was organised by the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, with sponsorship from Wellington and Hutt City Councils, the Department of Conservation and with support from Enviroschools and Te papa Tongarewa. Cover photos (clockwise from bottom left): Celmisia mackaui, Hinewai 2007; Anaphalioides bellidioides; Cobden Beach, West Coast; basic outcrop on Mt. Herbert, Banks Peninsula, Canterbury; Leptinella sp. New Zealand Plant Conservation Network CELEBRATING OUR NATIVE PLANT LIFE Conference Proceedings 8-10 August 2008 • Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand Sponsored by Wellington and Hutt City Councils and the Department of Conservation and supported by Enviroschools and Te Papa Tongarewa www.nzpcn.org.nz © 2009, New Zealand Plant Conservation Network ISBN 978-0-473-14950-5 Publication designed by Cerulean • www.cerulean.co.nz TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive summary. 6 Introduction and background . 7 Purpose of this report . 7 Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. 7 Enviroschools native plant forum. 7 Tane Ngahere Lecture. 8 2008 Conference introduction by the President. 9 Conference papers Investigations into the food value of bracken fern rhizomes . 11 A Plant on the Edge - The Trials of Coastal Peppercress Recovery.
    [Show full text]
  • New Zealand Mistletoe
    New Zealand Mistletoe Table of Contents Introduction 1 Alepis flavida 2 Ileostylus micranthus 3 Korthalsella clavata 4 Korthalsella lindsayi 5 Korthalsella salicornioides 6 Peraxilla colensoi 7 Peraxilla tetrapetala 8 Tupeia antarctica 9 Made on the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network website – www.nzpcn.org.nz Copyright All images used in this book remain copyright of the named photographer. Any reproduction, retransmission, republication, or other use of all or part of this book is expressly prohibited, unless prior written permission has been granted by the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network ([email protected]). All other rights reserved. © 2016 New Zealand Plant Conservation Network Introduction About the Network This book was compiled from information stored on the The Network has more than 800 members worldwide and is website of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network New Zealand's largest non­governmental organisation solely (www.nzpcn.org.nz). devoted to the protection and restoration of New Zealand's indigenous plant life. This website was established in 2003 as a repository for information about New Zealand's threatened vascular The vision of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network is plants. Since then it has grown into a national database of that 'no indigenous species of plant will become extinct nor be information about all plants in the New Zealand botanic placed at risk of extinction as a result of human action or region including both native and naturalised vascular indifference, and that the rich, diverse and unique plant life of plants, threatened mosses, liverworts and fungi. New Zealand will be recognised, cherished and restored'.
    [Show full text]
  • List of Current Names for Trees & Shrubs of New Zealand by Poole
    List of current names for Trees & Shrubs of New Zealand by Poole and Adams Extracted from the Plant Names Database on 31 January 2012 Alectryon grandis ............................................... Alectryon excelsus subsp. grandis (Cheeseman) de Lange & E.K.Cameron Alseuosmia ×quercifolia ..................................... Alseuosmia quercifolia A.Cunn. Avicennia marina var. resinifera ......................... Avicennia marina subsp. australasica (Walp.) J.Everett Brachyglottis repanda ........................................ Brachyglottis repanda var. fragrans D.G.Drury Carmichaelia aligera .......................................... Carmichaelia australis R.Br. Carmichaelia angustata ..................................... Carmichaelia odorata Benth. Carmichaelia angustata var. pubescens ............ Carmichaelia odorata Benth. Carmichaelia arenaria ........................................ Carmichaelia australis R.Br. Carmichaelia compacta var. procumbens .......... Carmichaelia compacta Petrie Carmichaelia cunninghamii ................................ Carmichaelia australis R.Br. Carmichaelia egmontiana .................................. Carmichaelia australis R.Br. Carmichaelia enysii ............................................ Carmichaelia nana (Hook.f.) Hook.f. Carmichaelia enysii var. ambigua ...................... Carmichaelia nana (Hook.f.) Hook.f. Carmichaelia fieldii ............................................. Carmichaelia juncea Hook.f. Carmichaelia flagelliformis ................................. Carmichaelia australis
    [Show full text]
  • Restoration Planting in Taranaki
    CONTENTS Part one: Getting started Introduction .................................................................... 2 Ecological Regions and Districts of Taranaki .................... 3 Plan of Action ................................................................. 4 Part two: Target ecosystems Vegetation patterns .........................................................9 What to plant and where ...............................................11 Coastal Spinifex duneland ..........................................................13 Harakeke–raupo–kuta wetland .......................................14 Saltmarsh ribbonwood–oioi estuary shrubland ..............15 Taupata–kawakawa–harakeke/wharariki shrubland ........16 Coastal herbfield ...........................................................17 Tainui forest ...................................................................18 Karaka-tawa–puriri forest ...............................................19 Coastal–semi-coastal Kahikatea–pukatea swamp/semi-swamp forest .......... 21 Kohekohe–karaka–puriri forest .......................................22 Semi-coastal–lowland Manuka–Gaultheria–wharariki shrubland .......................23 Tawa forest .....................................................................24 Tawa–pukatea forest ......................................................25 Lowland Tawa–kamahi forest .......................................................27 Hard beech and black beech forest ................................28 Waitaanga area silver beech–kamahi forest....................29
    [Show full text]
  • Download Article As 724.4 KB PDF File
    66 AvailableNew on-lineZealand at: Journal http://www.newzealandecology.org/nzje/ of Ecology, Vol. 34, No. 1, 2010 special issue: Feathers to Fur The ecological transformation of Aotearoa/New Zealand Mutualisms with the wreckage of an avifauna: the status of bird pollination and fruit- dispersal in New Zealand Dave Kelly1*, Jenny J. Ladley1, Alastair W. Robertson2, Sandra H. Anderson3, Debra M. Wotton1, and Susan K. Wiser4 1School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand 2Ecology, Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North 4474, New Zealand 3School of Environment, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1010, New Zealand 4Landcare Research, PO Box 40, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand *Author for correspondence (Email: [email protected]) Published on-line: 9 November 2009 Abstract: Worldwide declines in bird numbers have recently renewed interest in how well bird–plant mutualisms are functioning. In New Zealand, it has been argued that bird pollination was relatively unimportant and bird- pollination failure was unlikely to threaten any New Zealand plants, whereas dispersal mutualisms were widespread and in some cases potentially at risk because of reliance on a single large frugivore, the kereru (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae). Work since 1989, however, has changed that assessment. Smaller individual fruits of most plant species can be dispersed by mid-sized birds such as tui (Prosthemadera novaezelandiae) because both fruits and birds vary in size within a species. Only one species (Beilschmiedia tarairi) has no individual fruits small enough for this to occur. Germination of 19 fleshy-fruited species, including most species with fruits >8 mm diameter, does not depend on birds removing the fruit pulp.
    [Show full text]
  • Identifying Native Beeches: Fuscospora and Lophozonia
    Identifying native beeches: Fuscospora and Lophozonia Fuscospora cliffortioides Fuscospora solandri Fuscospora truncata Fuscospora fusca Lophozonia menziesii (Nothofagus cliffortioides) (Nothofagus solandri) (Nothofagus truncata) (Nothofagus fusca) (Nothofagus menziesii) mountain beech black beech hard beech red beech silver beech tāwhairauriki tāwhairauriki tāwhairauriki, tāwhairaunui tāwhairaunui tāwhairauriki smooth margins toothed margins • glabrous • may be sparsely hairy • 8-12 teeth each side, blunt, • 6-8 long, twisted, pointed teeth • small rounded marginal teeth uncurved on each side curve strongly in pairs or threes, blunt-ended towards leaf tip (crenate) no domatia domatia* • 4-16 x 3.5-9 mm • 8-20 x 3.5-11 mm • 13–43 × 8–30 mm • 12–45(–55) × 7–35(–40) mm • (4.8–)9–12(–30) × 5.5–14(–25) mm • ovate to triangular-ovate, often • oblong-elliptic to ovate, not • broadly ovate • broadly ovate • broadly ovate wavy usually wavy • tapered evenly to base • tapered obliquely to base, often • veins indistinct • narrowed to tip, tapered obliquely • rounded at tip, often pointed, • veins distinct, 5-6 pairs reddish • 1-4 fringed domatia in basal leaf to base tapered evenly to base axils on underside • short hairs in spaces between • veins distinct, 3-4 pairs, hairs on • veins indistinct • veins indistinct teeth veins • favoured host for mistletoe Peraxilla colensoi • dense white tomentum on • tomentum on underside shed • trunk often has flanges and • spaces between teeth deeply underside • sooty mould on bark buttresses rounded with short
    [Show full text]
  • Does Disturbance Determines the Prevalence of Dwarf Mistletoe
    DWARF MISTLETOES AFFECTED BY DISTURBANCE 181 REVISTA CHILENA DE HISTORIA NATURAL Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 86: 181-190, 2013 © Sociedad de Biología de Chile RESEARCH ARTICLE Does disturbance determines the prevalence of dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium, Santalales: Viscaceae) in Central Mexico? ¿El disturbio determina la prevalencia del muérdago enano (Arceuthobium, Santalales: Viscaceae) en el centro de México? MÓNICA E. QUEIJEIRO-BOLAÑOS*, ZENÓN CANO-SANTANA & IVÁN CASTELLANOS-VARGAS Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, 04510 México, D.F., México * Corresponding author: [email protected] ABSTRACT Large vegetation disturbance rates have been reported in the “Zoquiapan y Anexas” Protected Natural Area in Central Mexico. Arceuthobium globosum and A. vaginatum coexist within this area and have a deleterious impact on Pinus hartwegii. This study seeks to understand the relationship between this disturbance and the two dwarf mistletoe species prevalent in this zone. Twenty-four plots measuring 60 × 55 m containing P. hartwegii trees were selected. Within these plots, the physical features of the land, the density of host and non-host trees, the prevalence of each mistletoe species, and six disturbance indicators were recorded. We found that A. vaginatum infests up to 47 % of P. hartwegii trees and that its prevalence is affected positively by the slope, non-host tree density, and the proportion of stump and dead trees, but is negatively affected by the prevalence of A. globosum, fi re incidence, waste deposit, and the distance to the nearest disturbance. Arceuthobium globosum infests up to 37 % of the trees and is affected positively by altitude, the density of non-host trees, waste deposit and the distance to the nearest disturbance, but is negatively affected by the prevalence of A.
    [Show full text]
  • Threatened Plants of Waikato Conservancy Threatened Plants of Waikato Conservancy
    Threatened plants of Waikato Conservancy Threatened plants of Waikato Conservancy Andrea Brandon, Peter de Lange and Andrew Townsend Published by: Department of Conservation P.O. Box 10-420 Wellington, New Zealand This publication was prepared by DOC Science Publishing, Science & Research Unit: editing by Jaap Jasperse and layout by Jeremy Rolfe. Publication was approved by the Manager, Biodiversity Recovery Unit, Science Technology and Information Services, Department of Conservation, Wellington. © April 2004, Department of Conservation ISBN 0-478-22095-2 CONTENTS Acknowledgements 5 Introduction 6 Species profiles 9 Amphibromus fluitans 10 Anzybas carsei 12 Asplenium cimmeriorum 14 Austrofestuca littoralis 15 Brachyglottis kirkii var. kirkii 17 Carex litorosa 18 Carmichaelia williamsii 19 Centipeda minima subsp. minima 21 Cyclosorus interruptus 23 Dactylanthus taylorii 24 Deschampsia cespitosa 26 Desmoschoenus spiralis 28 Epacris sinclairii 30 Euphorbia glauca 31 Gratiola nana 33 Hebe scopulorum 34 Hebe speciosa 35 Lepidium flexicaule 37 Lepidium oleraceum 39 Libertia peregrinans 41 Linguella puberula 42 Lycopodiella serpentina 44 Marattia salicina 45 Mazus novaezeelandiae 47 Melicytus flexuosus 49 Myosotis petiolata var. pansa 51 Olearia pachyphylla 52 Ophioglossum petiolatum 54 Picris burbidgei 55 Pimelea tomentosa 57 Pittosporum kirkii 58 Pittosporum turneri 60 Plumatochilos tasmanicum 62 Pomaderris apetala subsp. maritima 63 Pomaderris phylicifolia 65 Prasophyllum aff. patens 67 Pseudopanax laetus 68 Pterostylis micromega 69 Pterostylis
    [Show full text]