Granitites
Encyclopedia
Granitites intangendus is a species of flowering plant endemic to Western Australia
. It is found on granite
outcrops in semi-arid regions of the midwest and south.
The only member of the genus Granitites, a name derived from its habitat, it is placed within the Rhamnaceae
family. It bears many similarities to the genus Alphitonia
(Ash or Sarsparilla trees), which are found in distant tropical regions of Australia, suggesting that it is an ancient species that became relict by climate changes. Its lineage would therefore extend to an era, some 20 mya, when tropical species covered the southern part of the continent.
The habit of this shrub is low-lying and sprawling, at 0.1 metres tall, or erect to a height of 2 metres. It has spiky branchlets, small leaves in an alternate arrangement, and small flowers that are clustered on relatively long stalks. The leaves are entire, or with a toothed margin, are linear in outline or broader at the base, may have hairs, veins that branch from the central axis, and are rolled upon themselves in a revolute manner. The flowers are generally white, the calyx and corolla might also be this colour or pinkish. Its fruit is a schizocarp, dry carpels that divide when mature into single seed bearing capsules. It is found in sandy soils on granite outcrops east of Kalgoorlie, the Avon Wheatbelt
and Mallee regions in the southern and eastern parts of the state. Specimens have been recorded at The Humps near Hyden
.
The first description of the genus was made by Barbara Rye in Nuytsia
in 1996. The author refers to the specimens collected at Fraser's Range and Esperance Bay
120 years beforehand, which was described as a species of Pomaderris
by Ferdinand von Mueller
.
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. It is found on granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
outcrops in semi-arid regions of the midwest and south.
The only member of the genus Granitites, a name derived from its habitat, it is placed within the Rhamnaceae
Rhamnaceae
Rhamnaceae, the Buckthorn family, is a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs and some vines.The family contains 50-60 genera and approximately 870-900 species. The Rhamnaceae have a worldwide distribution, but are more common in the subtropical and tropical regions...
family. It bears many similarities to the genus Alphitonia
Alphitonia
Alphitonia is an arborescent genus of flowering plants with about 20 species, belonging to the buckthorn family of the rosid eudicots. It occurs in tropical regions of Southeast Asia, Oceania and Polynesia. These are large trees or shrubs. In Australia, these plants are often called "ash trees" or...
(Ash or Sarsparilla trees), which are found in distant tropical regions of Australia, suggesting that it is an ancient species that became relict by climate changes. Its lineage would therefore extend to an era, some 20 mya, when tropical species covered the southern part of the continent.
The habit of this shrub is low-lying and sprawling, at 0.1 metres tall, or erect to a height of 2 metres. It has spiky branchlets, small leaves in an alternate arrangement, and small flowers that are clustered on relatively long stalks. The leaves are entire, or with a toothed margin, are linear in outline or broader at the base, may have hairs, veins that branch from the central axis, and are rolled upon themselves in a revolute manner. The flowers are generally white, the calyx and corolla might also be this colour or pinkish. Its fruit is a schizocarp, dry carpels that divide when mature into single seed bearing capsules. It is found in sandy soils on granite outcrops east of Kalgoorlie, the Avon Wheatbelt
Avon Wheatbelt
Avon Wheatbelt is an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia region in Western Australia and part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion.-Further reading:...
and Mallee regions in the southern and eastern parts of the state. Specimens have been recorded at The Humps near Hyden
Hyden
Hyden may refer to:* Hyden, Kentucky, USA* Hyden, Western Australia...
.
The first description of the genus was made by Barbara Rye in Nuytsia
Nuytsia (journal)
Nuytsia is a peer-reviewed journal published by the Western Australian Herbarium. It publishes papers on systematic botany, giving preference to papers related to the flora of Western Australia. Nearly twenty percent of Western Australia's plant taxa have been published in Nuytsia. First published...
in 1996. The author refers to the specimens collected at Fraser's Range and Esperance Bay
Esperance Bay
Esperance Bay is a bay on the south coast of Western Australia. Nominally located at , it is the site of the town of Esperance.The bay was discovered on 9 December 1792 by a French expedition under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, which sailed in search of the lost expedition of Jean-François de Galaup,...
120 years beforehand, which was described as a species of Pomaderris
Pomaderris
Pomaderris is a genus of 70 species of shrub to small tree in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. 65 of the species are native to Australia and the other five are from New Zealand. There is some overlap....
by 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:...
.