New Journal articles: Dec. 2022

Spyridium cordatum from Western Australia, first described by Russian botanist Turczaninow in 1858 from collections by James Drummond.

The State Herbarium of South Australia published two articles in Vol. 36 of its journal Swainsona today, 1 Dec. 2022.

(1) J. Kellermann, S.L. Mosyakin, C. Clowes & F. Udovicic, Australian species of Rhamnaceae published by Turczaninow, their types, current names and synonyms (6..7mb PDF).

Holotype of Spyridium villosum at KW, described by Turczaninow as Cryptandra villosa.

The authors clarify the typification of eight names of Australian taxa of Rhamnaceae, described by the 19th century Russian botanist Nicolai Turczanionow (1796-1863). APNI lists 521 names of Australian genera and species published by Turczaninow, of these almost 200 are still current and used today (according to APC).

Holotypes or lectotypes of these names can be found in Turczaninow’s personal herbarium (KW-TURCZ), which is preserved in the National Herbarium of Ukraine, Kyiv. The herbarium KW houses over 2 million specimens and important historical collections, among them many type specimens of Australian taxa. It is part of the M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, which also publishes two well-known taxonomic journals: the Ukrainian Botanical Journal, since 1921, and Algologia, since 1990.

For information about the current conditions at the M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany and the National Herbarium of Ukraine see an article by Sergei Mosyakin & Natalia Shiyan, Ukr. Bot. J. 79: 339-342 (2022).

(2) T.A. Hammer, Updated nomenclature and identification key for Hibbertia subg. Pachynema (Dilleniaceae) and description of a new species from the Northern Territory (2.4mb PDF).

Flower of Hibbertia triquetra, a new species from the Northern Territory described by Tim Hammer (type specimen).

The eleven species and three species groups of Hibbertia subg. Pachynema are discussed in this paper, and an identification key and the first formal synonymy for the subgenus are given. Additionally, the phrase name Hibbertia sp. Marrawal (K.G. Brennan 3194) from the Northern Territory is finally assessed and formally described as Hibbertia triquetra.

To access content of all volumes of Swainsona and the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens since Vol. 1 (1976), please visit the journal’s web-site at flora.sa.gov.au/swainsona or the Swainsona back-up site.

New publication on NZ fossils

View overlooking Foulden Maar showing the now infilled crater and mining pit. Photo: J. Conran.

Next week, the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Adelaide is hosting the Australian launch of a new publication on of New Zealand’s best known (and controversial) fossil localities, co-authored by State Herbarium Research Affiliate Dr John Conran (The University of Adelaide).

D.E. Lee, U. Kaulfuss & J. Conran (2022). Fossil treasures of Foulden Maar: A window into Miocene Zealandia. (Otago University Press: Dunedin, NZ).

Foulden Maar in Otago, New Zealand, a now infilled former lake, is home to an amazing record of life on Earth and is a paleontological site of international significance. Formed by a violent one-off volcanic eruption 23 million years ago, it comprises tens of thousands of undisturbed annual layers that record the changing life and ecosystems in and around a small, deep volcanic crater lake that existed for more than 130,000 years at the very beginning of the Miocene. The site is unsurpassed in the Southern Hemisphere. Continue reading →

New Journal articles: Aug. 2022

The State Herbarium of South Australia published two articles online in its journal Swainsona today, 30 Aug. 2022.

Botanic Gardens Maintenance Worker Roy Haskett, Technical Assistant Ron Hill and Director Noel Lothian, summit of Mt Woodroffe, Musgrave Ranges, S.A. during collecting expedition, June 1958. Photo: BGSH.

(1) L. Haegi, Botany and science at Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens since the founding of the State Herbarium (4.5mb PDF)

This paper is published in Vol. 30 of Swainsona, the Special Issue to celebrate 60 years State Herbarium of South Australia. Hon. Research Associate Laurie Haegi presents a history of science and research at the Botanic Garden of South Australia in the areas of plant propagation, germination studies, plant diseases and plant pathology, identification of ornamental plants and seed banking. A focus of the article is the period from 1948, when Noel Lothian became Director of the Botanic Gardens, to today. The paper was the result of a presentation given during the Symposium celebrating the Herbarium’s birthday, which was part of the 2016 NRM Science Conference.

(2) M. Hislop & A.J.G. WIlson, A taxonomic update of Stenanthera (Ericaceae: Epacridoideae: Styphelieae), including description of a third species from Western Australia, an updated description of S. pungens and an Australia-wide key to species (0.5mb PDF)

Stenanthera lacsalaria, a new species from W.A. Illustration Hung Ky Nguyen.

The second article is published in Vol. 36 of Swainsona, the regular volume for this year. The authors review the epacrid genus Stenanthera, which occurs in W.A., S.A., N.S.W., Victoria and Tasmania. They publish a new species endemic to W.A., Stenanthera lacsalaria and provide an updated, more detailled description of S. pungens.

National Tree Day – 31 July 2022

Today is National Tree Day and in Australia across many parts of the country the dominant trees are the eucalypts. There are over 800 species of eucalypts and I often find myself trying to identify them as I drive along country roads or ride my bike to and from work. More often than not the best I can say is… ‘yes that it is a Eucalyptus‘. My cycle route around Adelaide takes me through a number of areas where eucalypts have been planted or left to remain. As a guess, I think I would ride past at least 20 species of eucalypts a day. We are lucky to live in a city that has extensive parklands surrounding it and a botanic gardens at its heart. In addition, in the area less than 15 minutes from central Adelaide City you can be in some kind of woodland, be it planted or remnant. There are not many other cities in the world that can claim the same.

The remarkable diversity of eucalypts can make them challenging to identify. In fact only a small group of extremely talented people (I’m not one) can tell you the species name by sight. Some eucalypts are quite distinct and can be identified by looking at the shape of the tree, or the gloss of the leaves. In fact to identify a ‘Euc’ it often takes a combination of bark, buds, leaf shape, number of gum-nuts and a few other characters to be confident you have the correct species.

If you have a chance on this National Tree Day, or the coming week, you should see if you can visit a eucalypt. Unless you are in the Nullarbor region there will be a eucalyptus close by wherever you are. It may be a mallee if you are in the outback, it might be planted if you are near a park, or if you are really lucky it might be a 400 year old River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis).

Enjoy looking at the eucalypt, observe the bark and the nuts and the leaves. See if you can figure out what species it might be. If you are interested to learn more about eucalypts then we will be hosting tours of the Adelaide Botanic gardens as part of the ‘Nature Festival’ programme that the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium has planned for 2022. We hope that we will see you in the gardens for it.

Written by State Herbarium botanist Andrew Thornhill

New journal articles: July 2022

The State Herbarium of South Australia published three articles in Vol. 36 of its journal Swainsona today, 22 July 2022.

(1) T.A. Hammer, Inadvertent lectotypifications of Australian Dillenia and Tetracera (Dilleniaceae) (100kb PDF).

In this Short Communication, Tim Hammer (State Herbarium of South Australia & The University of Adelaide) clarifies the types for two species of Dilleniaceae: Dillenia alata (R.Br. ex DC.) Banks ex Martelli and Tetracera daemeliana F.Muell. In both cases, a lectotype was chosen inadvernetly by R.D. Hoogland, i.e. he did not explicitely designated the type specimens in his publications as lectotypes, but according to Art 9.10 of the International code of nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) his listing of a “type” specimen is interpreted as lectotypification.

Tye specimen of the new species Quintinia macrophylla.

(2) O.K. Paul & J. Kellermann, A new species of Quintinia (Paracryphiaceae) and an overview of the genus for New Guinea (3.2mb PDF).

Botanist Oliver Paul from the Papua New Guinea National Herbarium and State Herbarium of South Australia staff member Jürgen Kellermann publish an overview of the enigmatic tropical genus Quintinia for New Guinea, lectotypify several names and also describe a new species, Q. macrophylla. Over the years, the genus has been assigned to several different plants families: Saxifragaceae, Escalloniaceae, Grossulariaceae or to its own family Quintiniaceae. Molecular data now place it into Paracryphiaceae. Quintinia species are small to medium-sized shrubs or trees, growing from lowland rainforests to high montane moss forests. A world-checklist of Quintinia is also appended to the paper: The genus is most species-rich in New Guinea (13 spp.), but is also distributed in New Caledonia & Vanuatu (6 spp.; see Pillon & Hequet 2019), Australia (4 spp.), New Zealand (1 sp.) and Mindanao (Philippines) & Sulawesi (Indonesia) (1 sp.).

(3) T.A. Hammer, Two new cremnophilous Hibbertia (Dilleniaceae) species from the Northern Territory (2.2mb PDF).

The author describes to species of Hibbertia, which are mainly occurring in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory. Both species have been known as phrase name taxa for several years: The new species Hibbertia pendula was known as Hibbertia sp. South Magela and H. scopulicola was known as Hibbertia sp. Mount Howship. Both taxa grow in sandstone gorges, hanging from fissures in cliff faces.