''Lomatia myricoides'' , commonly known as the river lomatia, is a shrub native to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in southeastern Australia.

Description

''Lomatia myricoides'' grows as a woody shrub or small tree, reaching high, or rarely up to high. The leaves are lance-shaped or oblong, long and wide and have a pointed apex. They are

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

and the leaf edges may be straight or adorned with several serrations. The flowers grow in groups in leaf axils, the groups long and usually shorter than the leaves. The flowers are white or cream in colour, though pink-tinged flowers have been recorded.

Taxonomy

German botanist

Karl Friedrich von Gaertner Karl Friedrich von Gaertner (or Carl Friedrich von Gärtner) (1 May 1772 – 1 September 1850) was a well-known Germany, German botanist, and the son of Joseph Gaertner. He was a pioneer in the study of Hybrid (biology), hybrids, and he is conside ...

first described this species as ''Embothrium myricoides'' in 1807. At the time, ''

Embothrium ''Embothrium'' is a genus of two to eight species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) in the plant family Proteaceae, native to southern South America, in Chile and adjacent western Argentina; the genus occurs as far south as Tierra del Fuego ...

'' was a

wastebasket taxon Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined ...

to which many proteaceae were assigned. It was given its current binomial name by

Karel Domin Karel Domin (4 May 1882, Kutná Hora, Kingdom of Bohemia – 10 June 1953, Prague) was a Czech botanist and politician. After gymnasium school studies in Příbram, he studied botany at the Charles University in Prague ) , image_name = C ...

in 1921. The species name comes from the resemblance of the leaves to those of the genus ''

Myrica ''Myrica'' is a genus of about 35–50 species of small trees and shrubs in the family Myricaceae, order Fagales. The genus has a wide distribution, including Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America, and missing only from Austra ...

''. (The suffix ''-oides'' means "likeness" in

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 ...

.) Common names include river lomatia, mountain beech and long-leaf lomatia. Hybrids have been recorded with tree lomatia ('' Lomatia fraseri'') on the Southern Tablelands, with native holly ('' L. ilicifolia'') on the New South Wales south coast, and with crinkle bush ('' L. silaifolia'') on the New South Wales Central Coast and Central Tablelands. Analysis of chloroplast DNA showed that there is extensive hybridization between the five species (''L. arborescens'', ''L. fraseri'', ''L. ilicifolia'', ''L. myricoides'' and '' L. silaifolia'') of mainland southeastern Australia, though each is distinct enough to warrant species status.

Distribution and habitat

The range is from the New South Wales Central Coast south into eastern Victoria to the Dandenong Ranges. ''Lomatia myricoides'' is found in moist sheltered areas such as riverbank forests and montane forest, on loamy or sandy alluvial, or on basalt-derived soils. Associated species along watercourses include watergum ('' Tristaniopsis laurina''), grey myrtle (''

Backhousia myrtifolia ''Backhousia myrtifolia'' (commonly referred to as ''carrol, neverbreak, iron wood, grey myrtle'' or ''cinnamon myrtle'') is a small rainforest tree species which grows in subtropical rainforests of Eastern Australia. First discovered and subs ...

''), cedar wattle (''

Acacia elata ''Acacia elata'' the cedar wattle or mountain cedar wattle is a tree found in eastern Australia. Description The tree can grow to a height of around when mature, with exceptional specimens reaching over . It has deeply fissured bark with a dar ...

''), coachwood (''

Ceratopetalum apetalum ''Ceratopetalum apetalum'', the coachwood, scented satinwood or tarwood, is a medium-sized hardwood tree, straight-growing with smooth, fragrant, greyish bark. It is native to eastern Australia in the central and northern coastal rainforests ...

''), tantoon ('' Leptospermum polygalifolium'') and coral fern (''

Gleichenia dicarpa ''Gleichenia dicarpa'', commonly known as pouched coral fern or tangle fern, is a small fern of the family Gleicheniaceae found in eastern Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand. It forms tangled thickets in wet places such as swamps and rive ...

''). Montane trees that ''L. myricoides'' grows as an understory with include broad-leaved manna gum ('' Eucalyptus mannifera''), broad-leaved peppermint ('' E. dives''), as well as the shrubs daphne heath ('' Brachyloma daphnoides'') and prickly broom heath ('' Monotoca scoparia'').

Ecology

It has a woody lignotuber, from which it regenerates after bushfire. Small ants and flies forage for nectar in the flowers.

Cultivation

Not commonly seen in cultivation, ''Lomatia myricoides'' grows in semi-shade in situations with some moisture. It appears to tolerate ''

Phytophthora cinnamomi ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'' is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called " root rot", "dieback", or (in certain ''Castanea'' species), "ink disease". The plant pathogen is one of the wo ...

''.

Joseph Maiden Joseph Henry Maiden (25 April 1859 – 16 November 1925) was a botanist who made a major contribution to knowledge of the Australian flora, especially the genus ''Eucalyptus''. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing ...

reported that its wood was light and hard, and easily worked.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6669184 Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) myricoides Proteales of Australia