Byblis aquatica

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Byblis aquatica

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Byblidaceae
Genus: Byblis
Species:
B. aquatica
Binomial name
Byblis aquatica
Lowrie & Conran (1998)

Byblis aquatica is an

sundews and Drosophyllum
) covering its leaf surfaces to attract, catch, and digest insect prey to supplement the poor environmental nutrient supply.

Taxonomy

Byblis aquatica was first collected by Allen Lowrie in April 1988. In cultivation it was taken for an ecotype of B. liniflora and assigned the name Byblis aff. liniflora "Darwin". It remained thus until Barry Meyers-Rice demonstrated evidence of the reproductive isolation of the species, at which Jan Flisek suggested the description of the taxa as a new species in 1996. Allen Lowrie did so as part of his revision of north Australian species in 1998.[2]

Description

Byblis aquatica flower

Byblis aquatica is an annual plant with a usually unbranching central stem supported by fine, fibrous roots. The central stem can reach a length of 45 centimetres (18 in), although it is only able to support its own weight during early growth (<5 cm.). After that it leans on neighboring plants for support, eventually toppling and growing horizontally along the ground or water surface, with only the growth tip growing uprightly.

The plant's

maroon (color) and droop. The leaf surface is covered with stalked mucilaginous glands
along its entire length. These serve not only to attract and trap insect prey, but also allow the plant to "hold on" to neighboring structures for support.

Byblis aquatica flowers are born singly at the tip of 1.5–3-centimetre (0.59–1.18 in) stems similar in appearance to the leaves. These emerge from the leaf axes in mature plants. The five-petaled, deep purple flowers appear between January and May (during the Australian summer), although only a few at a time.

B. aquatica seed capsule

The generally glabrous,

pistils
are 2–2.5 mm long and bear a rough stigma.

Fertilized flowers mature to form a 5–10-millimetre (0.20–0.39 in) by 3–5-millimetre (0.12–0.20 in) egg-shaped, two-parted seed capsules. The dry capsule only opens after being soaked in water[3](see water dispersal). The black, 1–1.3-millimetre (0.039–0.051 in) long seeds are grooved lengthwise.[4]

Distribution and habitat

This species has a very limited distribution in the Australian

Berry Springs and has also been found on Bathurst Island. It grows in the loamy sand of seasonally flooded depressions and in the shallow margins of freshwater lagoons.[5]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T39630A143957712.en
    . Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  2. doi:10.58828/nuy00283
    .
  3. ^ D'amato, Peter (2013). The Savage Garden, revised. p. 231.
  4. doi:10.1071/SB9930175
    .
  5. ISBN 1-875941-85-1
    .

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Byblis aquatica.
  • Meyers-Rice, Barry. Byblis - Notes On Forms New To Cultivation. In: Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 22: 39–40.
  • Flísek, Jan. Byblis aff. liniflora "Darwin" - Novy druh rodu Byblis? In: Trifid, Darwiniana 4: 27–28, 43.
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