''Bellendena montana'', commonly known as mountain rocket, is a species of low-growing multi-stemmed shrub in the plant family

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...

. It is endemic to high-altitude subalpine and alpine regions in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The prominent white flower spikes appear over summer, followed by small bright red or yellow fruit in late summer and autumn. Described by Robert Brown in 1810, it is the sole member of the genus ''Bellendena'', which is in turn the sole member of subfamily Bellendenoideae, and is thought to represent an early offshoot within the family.

Taxonomy

Scottish botanist Robert Brown described the mountain rocket in 1810 as ''Bellendena montana'', naming the genus in honour of John Bellenden Ker Gawler for his botanical works. The species name is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

adjective ''montanus'' and refers to its montane habitat. Its common name refers to its red-tipped rocket-shaped flowerheads. Phylogenetic studies often place this genus as basal (one of the earliest offshoots) to the rest of the Proteaceae, though its exact position and relationships are unclear. A 2006 analysis, sythesesizing of molecular and other studies, by Weston and Barker located it as sister to the subfamily Persoonioideae, the two sharing a common ancestor which diverged from the other Proteaceae. However, the genus has an anatomical feature, laterocytic stomata (having 3 or more parallel specialised subsidiary cells), which it shares with the Platanaceae (next closest relatives to the

) and no other Proteaceae, which indicate it diverged from all other members of the family first.

Description

''Bellendena montana'' grows as a low, spreading multistemmed shrub to anywhere from 10 cm to 1.8 m high, and 1 m in diameter. The leaves are thick and variable, ranging from oblanceolate to spathulate to wedge-shaped (cuneate) in shape with recurved margins and measuring 1–6 cm long and 0.2 to 2.2 cm wide. Plants from north-eastern Tasmania have narrower leaves than elsewhere, and populations from higher altitudes have smaller leaves and more crowded foliage. The flowers occur in terminal racemes which are held on short stems above the foliage. These are followed by small egg-shaped (obovate) bright red or yellow fruit, which are ripe in late summer and autumn.

Distribution and habitat

''Bellendena montana'' is found at altitudes above 1000 m (3500 ft), though rarely lower to 400 m. It grows on low-nutrient soils (mostly

dolerite Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grained ...

, but sometimes

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

-derived) with good drainage, often rocky outcrops, as well as more boggy areas and alpine heathland.

Cultivation

The plant has attractive flowers, fruit and foliage, but is not often cultivated because it is difficult to grow at low altitudes. Propagation by seed or cutting is unreliable.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q15962401, from2=Q2706858 Proteaceae Proteales of Australia Endemic flora of Tasmania Monotypic Proteaceae genera