Forstera
Encyclopedia
Forstera is a genus of small perennial plant
s in the Stylidiaceae
family named in honour of the German
naturalists
Johann Reinhold Forster
and his son, Georg Forster
, who had previously described Forsteras sister genus, Phyllachne
just five years earlier. It comprises five species that are endemic to New Zealand
with the exception of F. bellidifolia
, which is endemic to Tasmania
. The species in this genus resemble those in a subgenus
of the related genus Stylidium called Forsteropsis
, but they are more closely related to the genus Phyllachne. Proposals to merge the two genera based on information from cladistic analysis
have emerged because of these genera's morphological similarities and evidence that they are paraphyletic
.
with small imbricate
leaves and pedicellate, actinomorphic flowers.
Forstera and its closely allied sister genus Phyllachne
have often been regarded as the most plesiomorphic genera in their family. Characteristics that this genus shares with Phyllachne include apically fused thecae that form a single-celled curved anther and the epigynous nectaries. Forstera can be distinguished from Phyllachne by its long peduncle
(absent in Phyllachne) and the cushion plant
habit of Phyllachne.
in Nova Acta Regiae Societatis Scientiarum Upsaliensis. Many sources list L.f. (Carolus Linnaeus the Younger
's standard author abbreviation
) as the author of the genus, but the Australian Plant Name Index
(APNI) notes that "no mention of Linnaeus as author could be found." The first species placed in the genus was F. sedifolia, which would remain the only species in the genus for 72 years. The English
botanist Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
described three new species: F. bellidifolia
in 1852 and F. bidwillii and F. tenella in 1853.
There was an uncertainty among botanists whether these plants belonged in one genus or two. The first instance of such uncertainty began when Ferdinand von Mueller
moved F. sedifolia and F. bellidifolia to Phyllachne in 1874. In 1889, Selmar Schönland
reduced the genus itself to a section of Phyllachne under the name Phyllachne sect. Forstera in Engler
and Prantl
's Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien. The moves established what later taxonomists would come to realize: that these two genera are closely related. By Johannes Mildbraed
's 1908 taxonomic monograph
on the family in Engler's Das Pflanzenreich, all four species known at the time were placed back into Forstera. The last species in this genus to be described was F. mackayii in 1935 by Harry Howard Barton Allan, bringing the total to five species.
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
s in the Stylidiaceae
Stylidiaceae
The family Stylidiaceae is a taxon of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It consists of five genera with over 240 species, most of which are endemic to Australia and New Zealand. Members of Stylidiaceae are typically grass-like herbs or small shrubs and can be perennials or annuals...
family named in honour of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
naturalists
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
Johann Reinhold Forster
Johann Reinhold Forster
Johann Reinhold Forster was a German Lutheran pastor and naturalist of partial Scottish descent who made contributions to the early ornithology of Europe and North America...
and his son, Georg Forster
Georg Forster
Johann Georg Adam Forster was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist, and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father on several scientific expeditions, including James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific...
, who had previously described Forsteras sister genus, Phyllachne
Phyllachne
Phyllachne is a genus of four cushion plant species in the family Stylidiaceae. Of the four species, two are endemic to New Zealand, while P. colensoi is also native to Tasmania and P. uliginosa is entirely endemic to southern South America and is the only species in the Stylidiaceae...
just five years earlier. It comprises five species that are endemic to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
with the exception of F. bellidifolia
Forstera bellidifolia
Forstera bellidifolia, the Tasmanian Forstera, is a species in the family Stylidiaceae that is endemic to Tasmania, Australia. It was described by William Jackson Hooker in an 1851 volume of Icones Plantarum...
, which is endemic to Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. The species in this genus resemble those in a subgenus
Subgenus
In biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.In zoology, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the generic name and the specific epithet: e.g. the Tiger Cowry of the Indo-Pacific, Cypraea tigris Linnaeus, which...
of the related genus Stylidium called Forsteropsis
Stylidium subg. Forsteropsis
Stylidium subg. Forsteropsis, as circumscribed by Allen Lowrie and Kevin Kenneally, contains five species of triggerplants from south-western Australia that are characterized by their tightly appressed leaves arranged in a spiral around the stem. This subgenus was originally described by Otto...
, but they are more closely related to the genus Phyllachne. Proposals to merge the two genera based on information from cladistic analysis
Cladistics
Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants . For example, birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor form a clade...
have emerged because of these genera's morphological similarities and evidence that they are paraphyletic
Paraphyly
A group of taxa is said to be paraphyletic if the group consists of all the descendants of a hypothetical closest common ancestor minus one or more monophyletic groups of descendants...
.
Description
The species in Forstera are generally erect or decumbent perennialsPerennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
with small imbricate
Leaf shape
In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...
leaves and pedicellate, actinomorphic flowers.
Forstera and its closely allied sister genus Phyllachne
Phyllachne
Phyllachne is a genus of four cushion plant species in the family Stylidiaceae. Of the four species, two are endemic to New Zealand, while P. colensoi is also native to Tasmania and P. uliginosa is entirely endemic to southern South America and is the only species in the Stylidiaceae...
have often been regarded as the most plesiomorphic genera in their family. Characteristics that this genus shares with Phyllachne include apically fused thecae that form a single-celled curved anther and the epigynous nectaries. Forstera can be distinguished from Phyllachne by its long peduncle
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
(absent in Phyllachne) and the cushion plant
Cushion plant
A cushion plant is a compact, low growing, mat forming plant that is found in alpine, subalpine, arctic, or subarctic environments around the world...
habit of Phyllachne.
Botanical history
The genus Forstera was first named in 1780 by Carl Linnaeus and described by Georg ForsterGeorg Forster
Johann Georg Adam Forster was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist, and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father on several scientific expeditions, including James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific...
in Nova Acta Regiae Societatis Scientiarum Upsaliensis. Many sources list L.f. (Carolus Linnaeus the Younger
Carolus Linnaeus the Younger
Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Carl von Linné or Carolus Linnaeus the Younger was a Swedish naturalist...
's standard author abbreviation
Author citation (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, author citation refers to citing the person who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
) as the author of the genus, but the Australian Plant Name Index
Australian Plant Name Index
The Australian Plant Name Index is an online database of all published names of Australian vascular plants. It covers all names, whether current names, synonyms or invalid names...
(APNI) notes that "no mention of Linnaeus as author could be found." The first species placed in the genus was F. sedifolia, which would remain the only species in the genus for 72 years. The English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
botanist Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
Joseph Dalton Hooker
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM, GCSI, CB, MD, FRS was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the 19th century. Hooker was a founder of geographical botany, and Charles Darwin's closest friend...
described three new species: F. bellidifolia
Forstera bellidifolia
Forstera bellidifolia, the Tasmanian Forstera, is a species in the family Stylidiaceae that is endemic to Tasmania, Australia. It was described by William Jackson Hooker in an 1851 volume of Icones Plantarum...
in 1852 and F. bidwillii and F. tenella in 1853.
There was an uncertainty among botanists whether these plants belonged in one genus or two. The first instance of such uncertainty began when Ferdinand von Mueller
Ferdinand von Mueller
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, KCMG was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist.-Early life:...
moved F. sedifolia and F. bellidifolia to Phyllachne in 1874. In 1889, Selmar Schönland
Selmar Schonland
Professor Selmar Schonland , the founder of the Botany Department at Rhodes University, was a German immigrant, who came to the Eastern Cape in 1889 to take up an appointment as curator of the Albany Museum...
reduced the genus itself to a section of Phyllachne under the name Phyllachne sect. Forstera in Engler
Adolf Engler
Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler was a German botanist. He is notable for his work on plant taxonomy and phytogeography, like Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien , edited with Karl A. E...
and Prantl
Karl Anton Eugen Prantl
Karl Anton Eugen Prantl , also known as Carl Anton Eugen Prantl, was a German botanist.Prantl was born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, and studied in Munich. In 1870 he graduated with the dissertation Das Inulin. Ein Beitrag zur Pflanzenphysiologie...
's Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien. The moves established what later taxonomists would come to realize: that these two genera are closely related. By Johannes Mildbraed
Johannes Mildbraed
Gottfried Wilhelm Johannes Mildbraed was a German botanist that specialized in mosses, ferns, and various spermatophytes. He is well-known for authoring the most current monograph and taxonomic treatment of the family Stylidiaceae in 1908 as part of the unfinished Das Pflanzenreich series. The...
's 1908 taxonomic monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
on the family in Engler's Das Pflanzenreich, all four species known at the time were placed back into Forstera. The last species in this genus to be described was F. mackayii in 1935 by Harry Howard Barton Allan, bringing the total to five species.