''Monotoca glauca'', known as goldy wood, is a heath family shrub endemic to

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

, Australia and is one of 17 described ''

Monotoca ''Monotoca'' is a genus of about 17 species of shrubs in the family Ericaceae. The genus is endemic to Australia. Species include: *'' Monotoca billawinica'' Albr. *''Monotoca elliptica'' (Sm.) R.Br. – tree broom heath *'' Monotoca empet ...

'' species. It is a widespread and abundant understory species found on the margins of wet eucalypt forests and logged areas.

Description

''Monotoca glauca'' is an evergreen, densely branched shrub or small tree with slender branches, often 2–3 m tall. Leaves are similar to Cyathodes glauca'','' however are not in whorls. Venation tends to be spreading or palmate, characteristic of the genus. Leaves are elliptic with a point, and are usually 1.5 cm long, with a yellowish-green, glabrous adaxial surface, and glaucous abaxial surface. Flowers are pentamerous, white and solitary in auxiliary spikes. ''M. glauca'' is usually hermaphroditic or sometimes unisexual by abortion of pollen or ovules. The

corolla tube Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usually ...

is short with spreading lobes. Flowering occurs in January and February. Fruit is an ovoid

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

, green when mature and 3mm in diameter. ''

Monotoca elliptica ''Monotoca elliptica'', the tree broom heath, is a plant in the family Ericaceae, found in south-eastern Australia. Description Monotoca elliptica is a long-lived species which may grow for more than a hundred years. The plant is often seen a ...

'' is superficially very similar, but can be distinguished by its terminal spikes, and its leaves tend to be wider and less linear.

Distribution and ecology

''Monotoca glauca'' is a common understory shrub at the edges of wet eucalypt forests, mixed forest,

buttongrass ''Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus'', commonly known as buttongrass, is a species of tussock-forming sedge from southeastern Australia. It forms part of a unique habitat in Tasmania. It was originally described as ''Chaetospora sphaerocephala'' by ...

moorlands and in logged areas, found more commonly west of Tyler's Line. ''Monotoca glauca'' is hardy to most frosts and light snowfalls, and tolerates moist, shady sites, and is susceptible to Phytophthora cinnamomi. It is phosphorus intolerant, but may be found on fertile, loam, poor and well drained soils.

Etymology

''Monotoca glauca'' was first formally described in 1805 by Jacques Labillardière who gave it the name ''Styphelia glauca''. It was renamed by English botanist George Claridge Druce who gave it its current binomial name in 1917. "Glauca" comes from the Greek word ''glaukos'' meaning “gleaming, silvery”. In botanical terms,

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

refers to the greyish, bluish or whitish

waxy Waxy may refer to: * a substance related to wax * colloquially for a waxworm (particularly used by anglers) * Waxy (band), an American stoner rock band * Waxy (horse), a thoroughbred racehorse * WAXY (AM), a radio station (790 AM) licensed to serv ...

coating or bloom that is easily rubbed off.

Cultivation

''Monotoca glauca'' is an ideal hedging plant, and may be grown from cuttings or seed but requires good drainage and part to full sun. ''Monotoca'' species are particularly difficult to germinate from seeds, and the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens seedbank has been making a concerted effort to resolve germination requirements.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17250743 glauca Flora of Tasmania Plants described in 1805 Taxa named by George Claridge Druce