Melaleuca mistletoe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Melaleuca mistletoe |
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| Amyema gaudichaudii growing on a Melaleuca decora tree. | |
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Amyema
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| Species: |
gaudichaudii
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| Where A. gaudichaudii has been found in Australia. | |
The Amyema gaudichaudii, also known as melaleuca mistletoe, is a special plant found only in eastern Australia. It belongs to the family called Loranthaceae. Like other mistletoes, it's a shrubby plant that grows in the air, not in the ground. It's a hemiparasite, which means it gets some of its food and water from another plant, but it can also make its own food.
This mistletoe has small, wedge-shaped leaves and tiny, dark red flowers that grow in groups of three. You'll only find it growing on a few types of Melaleuca trees.
Contents
What it Looks Like
Amyema gaudichaudii is a mistletoe with leaves that look like a wedge. They are about 2 to 4 centimeters (0.8 to 1.6 inches) long and 2 to 6 millimeters (0.08 to 0.24 inches) wide. The leaves get narrower at the bottom, where they connect to a small stalk called a petiole, which is about 2 to 4 millimeters (0.08 to 0.16 inches) long. The very end of the leaf is rounded.
The plant is mostly smooth, meaning it doesn't have many hairs. You might see a few short, rust-colored hairs on the young branches and flower buds. The flowers grow in groups of three, and the whole group looks a bit like a candelabra (a fancy candle holder). This group has a main stalk, called a peduncle, which is about 6 to 12 millimeters (0.24 to 0.47 inches) long. The two flowers on the ends have their own small stalks, called pedicels, about 2 to 4 millimeters (0.08 to 0.16 inches) long. But the flower in the middle doesn't have a stalk.
Each flower has four or five dark red petals. These petals are about 7 to 10 millimeters (0.28 to 0.39 inches) long and have a club-like shape at their tips. This mistletoe usually flowers in the summer. After the flowers, it grows small, round, red fruits that are about 4 millimeters (0.16 inches) across.
Naming and History
This mistletoe was first officially described in 1830 by a scientist named Augustin Pyramus de Candolle. He gave it the name Loranthus gaudichaudii. Later, in 1895, another French botanist, Philippe Édouard Léon Van Tieghem, changed its name to Amyema gaudichaudii.
The second part of its name, gaudichaudii, is a special specific epithet. It was chosen to honor Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré, who was the person who collected the very first sample of this plant that scientists used to describe it. This first sample is called the type specimen.
Where it Lives
Amyema gaudichaudii is quite picky about where it grows! It only grows on Melaleuca trees, which are also known as paperbark trees. You can find it in forests and swampy woodlands. Scientists have seen it growing on seven different types of Melaleuca trees, but it especially likes M. decora and M. bracteata.
This mistletoe is found in two separate areas, which scientists call disjunct populations. One group lives in the western part of the Darling Downs in Queensland. The other group lives along the coast of New South Wales, between the Hunter and Illawarra areas.
Ecology and Life Cycle
This mistletoe is an important food source for some insects. The caterpillars of two types of butterflies, the Delias aganippe (also known as the Imperial Jezebel) and the Ogyris amaryllis (the Satin Azure), love to eat this mistletoe. This means the mistletoe plays a role in their life cycle, helping these butterflies grow.
See also
In Spanish: Amyema gaudichaudii para niños
Images for kids
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An Imperial Jezebel butterfly (Delias aganippe) laying eggs on Amyema gaudichaudii.
