''Lomatia polymorpha'', commonly known as mountain guitar plant, is a shrub or small tree of the 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 ...

which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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

. It is a shrub or small tree with linear leaves, and white, cream-coloured or greenish flowers. It is common throughout its range which is approximately complementary to that of '' L. tinctoria'' in Tasmania.

Description

''Lomatia polymorpha'' is a shrub or small tree which grows to a height of between . It has

simple Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by Johnn ...

leaves which are linear to narrow egg-shaped, long, wide, have a stalk about long and sometimes have a few lobes or teeth on the margins. The stems sometimes have a covering of matted hairs while the lower surface of the leaves is covered with rusty-coloured hairs and has a prominent mid-vein. The heads of flowers barely extend beyond the leaves and are white, cream or greenish-white in colour. Flowers appear between January and March and are followed by fruits which are dark grey to black and long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Lomatia polymorpha'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in ''

Transactions of the Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

Mountain guitar plant is a common and widespread species found "approximately south of the Pieman River and west of the Derwent River" in subalpine woodlands, lowland scrubby vegetation in wetter areas, occasionally in rainforest, from sea level to . Where the range overlaps with ''L. tinctoria'', (as in the region of

Lake St Clair Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast da ...

), hybrids often occur.

Use in horticulture

A hardy species in cultivation, ''L. polymorpha'' can be grown readily from seeds or cuttings and grows well in most soils and aspects.

Phytochemical profile

''Lomatia polymorpha,'' was subjected to various natural products isolation methods by researchers at The University of Tasmania. Through their comprehensive study they found several different compounds distinct to Proteaceae and common throughout a variety of plants. Three different long chain alcohols were found, tetracosan-1-ol, hexacosan-1-ol and

octacosan-1-ol 1-Octacosanol (also known as ''n''-octacosanol, octacosyl alcohol, cluytyl alcohol, montanyl alcohol) is a straight-chain aliphatic 28-carbon primary fatty alcohol that is common in the epicuticular waxes of plants, including the leaves of many ...

as well as the

flavanoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

taxifolin Taxifolin (5,7,3',4'-flavan-on-ol), also known as dihydroquercetin, belongs to the subclass flavanonols in the flavonoids, which in turn is a class of polyphenols. Stereocenters Taxifolin has two stereocenters on the C-ring, as opposed to querc ...

and

isoquercetin Isoquercetin, isoquercitrin or isotrifoliin is a flavonoid, a type of chemical compound. It is the 3-''O''-glucoside of quercetin. Isoquercitrin can be isolated from various plant species including ''Mangifera indica'' ( mango) and ''Rheum nobile'' ...

. Other molecules isolated include, 1-O-(p-Coumaroyl)-D-glucose and 1,2,4-trihydroxynaphthalene-1-O-glucoside (THNG). ''Lomatia polymorpha'' was found to share several compounds in common with ''L. tasmanica'' and ''L. tinctoria''. The three alcohols shared by the relatives is characteristic of the waxiness of their leaves and researchers found that the thinnest leaves between them, of ''L. polymorhpa'', yields the least of these compounds. These non-polar compounds possibly reflect the epicuticular morphology of the species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18043203 polymorpha Proteales of Australia Flora of Tasmania Plants described in 1810 Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)