''Richea gunnii'', the bog candleheath or Gunns richea, is an endemic Tasmanian angiosperm. It is a dicot of the family Ericaceae
[Jordan, Greg. “Key to Tasmanian Dicots”. Key to Tasmanian Dicots. University of Tasmania. Retrieved 2016-03-12.] and is found in Central, Western and North-east Tasmania.
[Yvonne, M. A. and Crowden, R. K.'' Department of Plant Science'', University of Tasmania (2000), Taxonomic Revision of Richea'' R.Br. (Epacridaceae). ''Australian Systematic Botany'' 13, 773–802.'']
Description
''Richea gunnii'' is a common montane shrub that grows in boggy areas.
It is an erect shrub, 30–100 cm high. The branches are
divaricate
Divaricate means branching, or having separation or a degree of separation. The angle between branches is wide.
In botany
In botany, the term is often used to describe the branching pattern of plants. Plants are said to be divaricating when the ...
. Mature stems become bare of leaves and show prominent annular scars. The leaves are generally clustered in the top 5–20 cm of the branches. The leaves are spreading, rigid and usually recurved. They are 30–60 mm long × 5–7 mm wide and taper to an acute apex.
''R. gunnii'' flowers in summer, late December to February.
[Whiting, J. Roberts, J. Reeves, R. Tayler, F. Tayler, V.(2004).'' Tasmania's Natural Flora. Tasmania's Natural Flora Committee, Ulverstone Tasmania.''] The flowers are white.
The inflorescence are 30–100mm × 10–15 mm, they are terminal and erect on a spike-like panicle, maturing acropetally. The internodes are 3–5 mm long, becoming shorter towards the apex.
The petals are fused to form a cap which is shed to expose the stamens.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Richea'' was named by Robert Brown in ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae,'' 555 (1810)
after
Claude Antoine Gaspar Riche (1762–1797) who was a doctor and botanist on the French frigate ''Espérence'', one of two frigates from the 1792 Bruni d’Entrecastreaux expedition.
[Wapstra, Mark. Wapstra, Annie. Wapstra, Hans (2010) Tasmanian Plant Names Unravelled. Fullers Bookshop, Wapstra Family. P. 122.] The species ''R. gunnii'' was named after Tasmanian plant collector
Ronald Campbell Gunn
Ronald Campbell Gunn, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS, (4 April 1808 – 13 March 1881) was a South African-born Australian Botany, botanist and politician.
Early life
Gunn was born at Cape Town, Cape Colony, (now South Africa), the son of W ...
who collected specimens from Mount Wellington and Western Mountains in 1837.
Distribution and habitat
''Richea gunnii'' occurs in Tasmania, mainly on the Central Plateau and Mt Field. It also occurs on mountains in North-east Tasmania.
It is a wide spread species in wetter sub alpine areas and along water courses.
Diversity and endemism
''Richea'' is an Australian endemic genus with nine species restricted to Tasmania including ''Richea gunnii''. There are two ''Richea'' species occurring on mainland south-eastern Australia.
The high endemism of ''Richea'' in Tasmania indicates a long historical presence and this could indicate that Tasmania with its cooler climate has become a refuge for ''Richea'' which is a relict from the breakup of Gondwana.
[Reid, Hill, Brown, Hovenden, James, Robert, Michael, Mark (2005). Vegetation of Tasmania. Tasmania: Australian Biological Resources Study. p. 108.]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q17245639
gunnii