Muellerina flexialabastra

Muellerina flexialabastra, common name Hoop pine mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic aerial shrub in the family Loranthaceae.[3] The species is endemic to Queensland.[3]

Muellerina flexialabastra
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Loranthaceae
Genus: Muellerina
Species:
M. flexialabastra
Binomial name
Muellerina flexialabastra
Downey & C.A.Wilson[1][2]
Occurrence data from AVH

Description

M. flexialabastra is a compact, bushy plant found in high altitude sub-tropical rainforests and the drier rainforests between Queensland and New South Wales.[3] The inflorescence is a terminal raceme off a central axis, and the pink to red tubular flowers occur in strongly reflexed, decussate pairs with a central sessile flower.[3] The ovoid fruits (6 – 15 mm long) are a red-blotched yellowish-green.[3]

Ecology

The main host on which M. flexialabastra grows is Hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii).[3] An inventory of host plants for Muellerina flexialabastra is given by Downey.[4][5]

Muellerina flexialabastra is not known to host any butterflies, but butterfly species using M. celastroides may use this mistletoe as well.[3]

Taxonomy

The species was first described by Paul Downey and Carol Wilson in 2004 as Muellerina flexialabastra.[1][2] There are no synonyms.[1][6]

References
  1. "APNI: Muellerina flexialabastra". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  2. Downey, P.O.; Wilson, C.A. (2004). "Muellerina flexialabastra (Loranthaceae): a new species of mistletoe from south-eastern Australia". Australian Systematic Botany. 17 (5): 441. doi:10.1071/SB03018. ISSN 1030-1887. (pp.444-445, Fig. 1)
  3. Moss, J.T. & Kendall, R. (2016) The Mistletoes of subtropical Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club Inc. Runcorn Queensland.
  4. Downey, P.O. (1998) An inventory of host species for each aerial mistletoe species (Loranthaceae and Viscaceae) in Australia. (Cunninghamia 5(3) 685-720)
  5. Downey, P.O. (2004) A regional examination of the mistletoe host species inventory. (Cunninghamia 8(3) 354-361)
  6. Govaerts, R. et al. (2018) Plants of the world online: Muellerina flexialabastra. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
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