Byblis (plant)
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2021) |
| Byblis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Byblis liniflora | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Byblidaceae Domin[1] |
| Genus: | Byblis Salisb. |
Byblis (/ˈbɪblɪs/ BIB-liss) is a small genus of carnivorous plants, sometimes termed the rainbow plants for the attractive appearance of their mucilage-covered leaves in bright sunshine. Native to Australia and New Guinea,[2] it is the only genus in the family Byblidaceae. The first species in the genus was described by the English botanist Richard Anthony Salisbury in 1808. Eight species are now recognised (see below).
Byblis species look very similar to
Plant characteristics
All species of the genus form upright growth supported by a weak, fibrous root system. The genus can be divided into two groups or "complexes": The B. liniflora complex and the B. gigantea complex (see below).
Leaves
The leaves of all species are round in cross section and highly elongated, tapering at the end. The surface of the leaves is densely studded with glandular hairs which secrete a
Along with the stalked mucilaginous glands, the leaves are also equipped with sessile glands, which assumedly are responsible for the secretion of the digestive juices. Sessile glands are five to ten times as numerous as the stalked glands.
Flowers
Fruit and seeds
Fertilized flowers mature to form an egg-shaped, two-parted seed capsule. As the seed capsule dries out it cracks open (dehisces), dropping the
Distribution and habitat
All Byblis species are native to
Like many
. They generally prefer seasonally wet sandy soil in partial or direct sunlight with temperatures between ~ 5-40 °C (40-105 °F).Environmental status
As native plants of Australia, all Byblis species are protected. Until the year 2000, they were also given international protection under CITES appendix II, but were removed from the list when Australia entered the CITES agreement. Since then trade of the genus has been unregulated outside of Australia. However, due to the sensitivity of the plant, interest in the genus has been restricted to a small portion of the carnivorous plant hobbyist community. The majority of plant material sold today is produced in cultivation, with the annual B. filifolia and B. liniflora being the most common. Most of the other species must be grown from seed, which is often collected from the wild for this purpose.
The West Australian species B. gigantea und B. lamellata are being threatened by habitat destruction for
Carnivorous or protocarnivorous
The status of the genus as a truly carnivorous plant has been repeatedly put into question. In their natural habitat, all species have been observed playing host to live bugs of the genus Setocoris, which nourished themselves by eating prey caught by the plants. Following this discovery it was assumed that, as with the genus Roridula, the plants do not actually digest their prey themselves, rather relying on the bugs to do that. The plants, it was reasoned, benefited by absorbing nutrients from the excrements of the bugs, either through their leaves or through the ground. An indirect digestion of these nutrients by a chitinase producing fungus was even proposed. It was not until 2005 that direct digestion of insect prey by enzymes secreted by the sessile glands of B. filifolia was proven.[3] Soon thereafter similar results were found with B. liniflora. These results clearly place this genus among the true carnivorous plants.
Systematics
Molecular genetics studies have placed the genus in the order Lamiales. While its placement within the order is still unclear, it is closely related to Martyniaceae, Lentibulariaceae as well as Gesneriaceae.
For a time, the
Traditionally the genus was divided into only two species, namely B. gigantea and B. liniflora. Further species were described in the 1980s, particularly through the work of the Australian botanist Allen Lowrie. Eight species are currently recognised:[4]
- Byblis aquatica (annual, scrambling stem up to 45 cm (18 in), semiaquatic habitats)
- anthers longer than filaments)
- Byblis gigantea (perennial, up to 70 cm (28 in), seeds with honeycomb pattern)
- Byblis guehoi
- Byblis lamellata (perennial, up to 45 cm (18 in), deeply ridged seeds)
- anthers shorter than filaments)
- Byblis pilbarana
- Byblis rorida (annual, up to 30 cm (12 in), heavily set with glandular tentacles)
Subdivision of the genus
Byblis liniflora complex
The four species of this complex, B. liniflora, B. rorida, B. filifolia and B. aquatica, are
Byblis gigantea complex
The remaining two species, B. lamellata und B. gigantea, make up what is known as the B. gigantea complex. These perennial species are both endemic to Southwest Australia, and reach heights of 45–70 cm (18–28 in). Unlike the annual members of the B. liniflora complex, these species survive the dry season by dying back to an underground rhizome, out of which they emerge come fall. The leaves of this complex can reach 20 cm (7.9 in) in length. The base chromosome count of the complex is x=9; since both species are diploid, their chromosome count is 2n=18.
Paleobotany
In the year 2004 a single fossil of a seed, resembling that of members of the modern day B. liniflora complex, was discovered in south Australia dating from the middle of the
Etymology
The Latin generic name "Byblis" originates from a goddess from
The English vernacular name - "rainbow plants" - also denotes the mucilaginous droplets which, under the right lighting conditions and viewing angle, sparkle in a rainbow of colors.
See also
References
Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent German-language Wikipedia article (retrieved 1 December 2006).
- hdl:10654/18083
- ^ "Byblis Salisb. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online.
- ^ Hartmeyer, Irmgard und Siegfried: Byblis filifolia als echte Karnivore rehabilitiert, Das Taublatt (GFP), 53, 4-5, 2005
- ISBN 978-1-908787-11-8.
- ^ S2CID 32159540.
- PMID 25538295.
- Barthlott, Wilhelm; Porembski, Stefan; Seine, Rüdiger; Theisen, Inge: Karnivoren, Stuttgart, 2004, ISBN 3-8001-4144-2
- Lowrie, Allen: Carnivorous Plants of Australia - Vol. 3, Nedlands, Western Australia, 1998
- Lowrie, Allen; Conran, John G.: A Taxonomic Revision of the Genus Byblis (Byblidaceae) In Northern Australia, Nuytsia 12(1):59-74, 1998
- Lowrie, Allen; Conran, John G.; Moyle-Croft, Jessica: A Revision of Byblis (Byblidaceae) In South-Western Australia, Nuytsia 15(1):11-19, 2002
- Conran, John G.; Houben, Andreas; Lowrie, Allen: Chromosome numbers in Byblidaceae, Aust. J. Bot., 2002, 50, 583-586
- Hartmeyer, Siegfried: Carnivory of Byblis Revisited—A Simple Method for Enzyme Testing on Carnivorous Plants, Carnivorous Plant Newsletter, 26, 39–45, 1997
- Hartmeyer, Siegfried: Carnivory in Byblis Revisited II: The Phenomenon of Symbiosis on Insect Trapping Plants, Carnivorous Plant Newsletter, 27, 110–113, 1998
- Plachno, B. J.; Jankun, A.: Phosphatase Activity in Glandular Structures of Carnivorous Plant Traps., Internationaler Botanischer Kongress 2005 in Wien, P1716, The Jagiellonian Univ., Inst. of Botany, Dept. of Plant Cytology and Embryology, Kraków,Poland.
Further reading
- Conran, John G.: The embryology and relationships of the Byblidaceae, Australian Syst. Bot. 9, 243–254, 1996
- Conran, John G.; Carolin, R.: Byblidaceae, in: Kadereit, J. (ed.): The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, Vol. VII: Flowering Plants: Dicotyledons: Lamiales (except Acanthaceae including Avicenniaceae), Springer, 2004, 45–49.
- Fukushima, K., K. Imamura, K. Nagano & Y. Hoshi (2011). Fukushima, Kenji; Imamura, Kaori; Nagano, Katsuya; Hoshi, Yoshikazu (2011). "Contrasting patterns of the 5S and 45S rDNA evolutions in the Byblis liniflora complex (Byblidaceae)". Journal of Plant Research. 124 (2): 231–244.
External links
