Melastoma Polyanthum
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''Melastoma affine'', also known by the common names blue tongue or native lassiandra, is a shrub of the family
Melastomataceae Melastomataceae is a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants found mostly in the tropics (two-thirds of the genera are from the New World tropics) comprising c. 175 genera and c. 5115 known species. Melastomes are annual or perennial herbs, s ...
. Distributed in
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
and
sub-tropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...
forests of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
South-east Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
and Australia, it is a plant of rainforest margins. Bees are the principal pollinators of this species.


Taxonomy

''Melastoma affine'' was first described by Scottish botanist
David Don David Don (21 December 1799 – 15 December 1841) was a Scottish botanist. Biography David Don was born on 21 December 1799 at Doo Hillock, Forfar, Angus, Scotland to Caroline Clementina Stuart, and her husband George Don of Forfar. His olde ...
in 1823. The taxonomy of the genus ''Melastoma'' is tricky, requiring a complete revision. Early genetics studies were published from 2001, – see also the erratum. through to recently, but a revision based on them has yet to be. In 2001 Karsten Meyer proposed a revision in which this species and other species were subsumed within the species ''
Melastoma malabathricum ''Melastoma malabathricum'', known also as Malabar melastome, Indian rhododendron, Singapore rhododendron, planter's rhododendron and senduduk, is a flowering plant in the family Melastomataceae. This plant is native to Indomalaya, Japan and Aust ...
''. In Australia, currently most authorities do not accept this; instead the naturally occurring populations in WA, NT,
Qld ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...
and northeastern NSW remain recognised as this species ''M. affine'', except by authorities in Qld.


Synonyms

, the Australian Plant Census (APC) accepts the following synonyms of ''Melastoma affine'': *''Melastoma malabathricum'' var. ''nanum'' F.M.Bailey *''Melastoma malabathricum'' var. ''polyanthum'' (Blume) Benth. *''Melastoma novae-hollandiae'' Naudin *''Melastoma polyanthum'' Blume Two other names that have been used for this species it regards as misapplied rather than synonyms: *''
Melastoma malabathricum ''Melastoma malabathricum'', known also as Malabar melastome, Indian rhododendron, Singapore rhododendron, planter's rhododendron and senduduk, is a flowering plant in the family Melastomataceae. This plant is native to Indomalaya, Japan and Aust ...
'' L. *''
Melastoma denticulatum ''Melastoma denticulatum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Melastomataceae, native from the Solomon Islands to the south Pacific. Taxonomy ''Melastoma denticulatum'' was first described by Jacques Labillardière Jacques-Julien ...
'' Labill.


Description

It is found as a shrub to in height. The leaves are
ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe *Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd *Vates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ova ...
and measure in length, and wide. Covered in fine hair they have longitudinal veins. Appearing in spring and summer, the flowers occur on the ends of branchlets and are purple with five petals and sepals. There are two sets of distinctive stamens, five opposite the petals and five opposite the sepals. The antesepalous ones have long anthers with a bilobed appendage at their base. It produces 8mm long purple fruits that split open to expose a redish to purple flesh with many small seeds. The common name "blue tongue" refers to the edible purplish-black pulp within the fruit capsules which stains the mouth blue.


Distribution and habitat

''Melastoma affine'' is found from India through southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia and into Australia. Within Australia, it is found from the Kimberleys in Western Australia, across the Northern Territory and Queensland, and reaches as far south as Kempsey on the New South Wales mid north coast. It grows in wet areas in sclerophyll forest. ''M. affine'' is important as being a
pioneer species Pioneer species are hardy species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire. Pioneer flora Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, so ...
that colonises disturbed wet-sclerophyll and
rain forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...
habitats in the Australasian region. It produces no nectar - giving pollinators large amounts of pollen instead, which must be extracted through pores on the anthers. ''Melastoma affine'' is pollinated by bees, particularly '' Xylocopa bombylans'', ''X.'' aff. ''gressittii'', ''Amegilla anomola'' and '' Nomia'' species. Honeybees outcompete native bees for pollen at flowers, impacting on the species' reproduction.


Cultivation

A fast-growing and adaptable shrub, ''Melastoma affine'' is sometimes seen in cultivation. It can be propagated by seed or cuttings.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1039711
affine Affine may describe any of various topics concerned with connections or affinities. It may refer to: * Affine, a relative by marriage in law and anthropology * Affine cipher, a special case of the more general substitution cipher * Affine comb ...
Endangered flora of Australia Flora of tropical Asia Endangered flora of Asia