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''Acrothamnus montanus'', also known as snow beard heath, is a native Australian bushy shrub commonly found in sub-alpine to alpine areas of southeast Australia.
''Acrothamnus montanus'' has been previously known as ''Leucopogon montanus'', ''Lissanthe montana'' and ''Styphelia montana''.
In NSW, the species has been found in areas around 
File:A.mont12.jpg, ''A. montanus'' with red berries
File:Amontanus.jpg, ''A. montanus''
File:Acrothamnus montanus - Snow Beard-heath, Falls Creek (2).jpg, ''A. montanus'' at Falls Creek
Description
''Acrothamnus montanus'' is a woodyperennial
In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
shrub growing up to high.
It is a hermaphrodite plant, reaching reproductive maturity around 5 years, and usually flowers between the months of December to March depending on the location.
Flower petals are white and glabrous, with a few papillae on the inner face. Flower occur in ~3-8 clustered spiked up to long. Flowers produce drupe, fleshy fruit that turns red when ripe.
Leaves are simple, oblong, narrow and blunt, with toothed margins; long and wide. Lamina is glabrous with flat or slightly concaved upper surface and glabrous lower surface with 3 central and parallel veins. Petiol is ~ long.
''A. montanus'' stores buds (bud bank) in its basal and stem.
Easily confused with ''Acrothamnus hookeri'', ''Acrothamnus montanus'' is thought to be a clinal form of this species. However, ''A. montanus'' can be distinguished by an absence of hairs within the flower, and slightly concaved leaves toward the apex.
Taxonomy
The Greek translation of ''Acrothamnus montanus'' relates to the high altitude this shrub occurs in. ''Acron'' means 'summit or extremity', ''thamnos'' means 'shrub', and ''montanus'' means 'mountains'.Distribution
''Acrothamnus montanus'' is distributed in sub-alpine andalpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National P ...
areas across the Australian states of New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
, and Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
.
Victorian legislation lists ''A. montanus'' as Endangered (EN) in the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988
The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the Victorian Parliament designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Au ...
(FFG).
In Victoria, the species has been found in the East Gippsland Uplands, Highlands Northern Fall, Monaro Tablelands and the Victorian Alps.
In NSW, the species has been found in areas around Mount Stilwell
Mount Stilwell is a mountain 2,054m (6,739ft) above sea level, in the Great Dividing Range in Australia. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park, part of the Australian Alps National Parks and Reserves, ...
and Mount Kosciuszko
Mount Kosciuszko ( ; ; Ngarigo: ) is the highest mountain of the mainland Australia, at above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park, a part of the Australian Alps National Parks and ...
.
Threats
A study about the impacts ofglobal warming
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
on alpine vegetation
Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grasses ...
noted that
''Acrothamnus montanus'' shows high uncertainty for future landscape cover estimates. Predictions revealed an equally likely chance of the species increasing, decreasing or showing no change in landscape cover by 2050.
Ecology
Guthega skink
''Liopholis guthega'' is a nationally endangeredskink
Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one o ...
, restricted to the alpine plateaus of Kosciuszko National Park (New South Wales) and Bogong High Plains (Victoria). Research observing ''L.guthega's'' foraging behaviours during summer found in late summer the skink's diet shifts from predominantly invertebrates to predominantly plant material, largely that of ''Acrothamnus montanus'' berries. This is thought to be in response to temporal variation impacting resource availability.
''L. guthega'' is thought to play a significant role in seed dispersal of ''A. montanus'', indicated by the prevalence of intact seeds in scat.
Mountain pygmy-possum
''Burramys parvus'', or theMountain Pygmy-possum
The mountain pygmy possum (''Burramys parvus''), also simply known as the burramys, is a small, mouse-sized (weighs ) nocturnal marsupial of Australia found in dense alpine rock screes and boulder fields, mainly southern Victoria and around Moun ...
, habituates in dense alpine rock across southern Victoria and Kosciuszko National Park (New South Wales). Research found the main plant species present in the possum's diet is ''Acrothamnus montanus'' and ''Podocarpus lawrencei''.
Gallery
References
Image references
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15368057, from2=Q50844270 Ericaceae Flora of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1810