Loading AI tools
Species of flowering plant From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pseudowintera traversii, sometimes called Travers horopito,[4] is a species of woody shrub in the family Winteraceae. The specific epithet traversii is in honor of naturalist Henry H. Travers (1844–1928), son of William Thomas Locke Travers.[5][6]
Pseudowintera traversii | |
---|---|
Pseudowintera traversii | |
illustration of Pseudowintera traversii | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Magnoliids |
Order: | Canellales |
Family: | Winteraceae |
Genus: | Pseudowintera |
Species: | P. traversii |
Binomial name | |
Pseudowintera traversii | |
Synonyms[2] | |
Pseudowintera traversii is a densely branched shrub growing up to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) high.[4] It has coriaceous leaves that are 2–2.5 centimetres (0.79–0.98 in) long and ovate[4] or obovate.[7] The leaves are green-blue underneath and matte green on top,[4] close-set and on stout petioles.[7] The leaves may have reddish margins,[8] but lack the picturesque blotches of P. colorata.[9] However they are described as tasting peppery and pungent.[10] The bark is reddish-brown and rough.[7] The green or yellow flowers appear in January,[10] growing singly or as doubles, or rarely triples,[7] with 5-7 petals and 4-9 stamens.[8] The fruit appears in February[10] as a fleshy berry,[4] that is purplish-black[8][9] and 2–3 millimetres (0.079–0.118 in) in diameter, containing 3-6 seeds.[7]
Like all Winteraceae species, P. traversii lacks vessels in its xylem[11]
Ploidy | haploid[12] |
---|---|
Number of chromosomes | 43[12] |
Like the other species of horopito in Pseudowintera, it is endemic to New Zealand.[4] It is the rarest of the species, and the national government there lists it as "At Risk - Naturally Uncommon."[1] Naturally, it only is found growing in montane shrubland and woodland edges on the South Island in northwest Nelson between Westport and Collingwood.[7] It grows from 600–1,300 metres (2,000–4,300 ft) in elevation.[8]
Pseudowintera traversii shares a pollinator (possibly a thrip) with P. colorata, as natural hybrids have been found where their ranges overlap.[8] Females of the species Thrips obscuratus (New Zealand flower thrips) have been collected on P. traversii.[13]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.