Calandrinia Balonensis
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''Parakeelya balonensis'' (
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
''Calandrinia balonensis'') is a species of
succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...
plant native to arid and semi-arid regions of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. Common names for the plant include parakeelya, broad-leaf parakeelya, broad-leaved parakeelya and Balonne parakeelya. '' Parakeelya'' derives from one of the many
Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...
names for the plant. The scientific name for the species comes from the Balonne River in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, where the first specimen was found. '' Calandrinia'', its former genus, is named for Jean Louis Calandrini, a 19th-century Genevan professor and botanical author, ''P. balonensis'' is marketed as a garden plant under the name ''Calandrinia'' ‘Mystique’.


Description

''P. balonensis'' is a succulent annual herb with bright green foliage that grows in a spreading form up to 60 cm across, with erect leafy flower-stems to 30 cm high. The leaves are fleshy, approximately 5 to 20 mm wide and 20 to 100 mm long, with a groove running lengthwise along the middle of the upper surface. Although leaves appear almost flat when viewed from above, if the leaf is turned over to display the underside, its succulence is apparent. Leaves form a rosette at the base of the plant and extend up the flower-stems. There are three to four flowers at the top of each stem or on short leafy branches. Flowers are vivid dark pink or purple with five petals 11 to 15 mm long and bright yellow stamens in the center. The flowers open during the day and close just before sunset. The fruit is a small capsule that contains numerous dark-red seeds. The capsule is 5 to 9 mm long and 4 to 7 mm wide, and the seeds are at least 1 mm in diameter.


Taxonomy

''P. balonensis'' is one of 62 '' Parakeelya'' species, which are native to Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania. Along with the
pigweed Pigweed can mean any of a number of weedy plants which may be used as pig fodder: * ''Amaranthus'' species ** ''Amaranthus albus'', white pigweed, tumble pigweed ** '' Amaranthus blitoides'', prostrate pigweed ** '' Amaranthus californicus'', Cali ...
s (''
Portulaca ''Portulaca'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Portulacaceae, and is the type genus of the family. With over 100 species, it is found in the tropics and warm temperate regions. Portulacas are also known as the purslanes. Common p ...
'' species), ''Parakeelya'' are the most prominent succulent species in Australia. The ''Rumicastrum'' species were formerly classified in genus ''Calandrinia'' and considered to be
monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
(share the same ancestry) with the 14 ''Calandrinia'' species from the Americas. However, in 1987 Australian taxonomist Roger Carolin proposed that the American and Australian ''Calandrinia'' are not closely related to each other based on morphological analyses. Follow-up studies also supported two different lineages, based in part on the absence of ''Calandrinia'' on islands along possible dispersal pathways between South America and Australia and in part on genomic data''.'' Although the need for a nomenclature change was widely agreed, a debate arose over the appropriate naming of the Australasian ''Calandrinia,'' and the new genus name is not universally agreed to. A proposal was made to rename the genus as ''Parakeelya'' on the grounds that it is used as a common name for the whole genus, derives from South Australian and Central Desert Indigenous names, and is already accepted as a synonym for some Australian species''.'' In 2020 Mark Hershkovitz, the author of ''Parakeelya'', published a paper arguing that the Australasian species should be reclassified into genus ''Rumicastrum'' according to established nomenclatural rules. ''
Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...
'' accepts ''Parakeelya''. Other sources are undecided.


Distribution and habitat

''P. balonensis'' is widely distributed in the arid and semi-arid zones 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 ...
, the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
,
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
,
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
, and
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. It is most common on sandplains, sand dunes and rises and along sandy intermittent watercourses. It is less frequently found on gravelly hills of neutral or acidic rocks. The plant occurs in association with mulga and poplar box woodlands and in spinifex communities.


Ecology

The distinctive features and life history of ''P. balonensis'' reflect the requirements of its distribution in dry regions. The most noticeable of these features is succulence, an evolutionary strategy in which plants’ leaves or roots are thickened, fleshy, and engorged to retain water in
arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...
climates or
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...
conditions. Although succulence is rare among Australian plants when compared to arid regions in the Americas and Africa, it is a defining characteristic of ''Parakeelya'' and ''Calandrinia''. ''P. balonensis'' has “leaf succulence,” in which the majority of its water reserves are stored in the leaves. ''P. balonensis'' utilises crassulean acid metabolism (CAM) at a low level. In CAM photosynthesis, plants can obtain carbon dioxide by opening their stomata at night when water loss is reduced. Carbon dioxide absorbed at night is stored in dilute form in the succulent tissues until daylight, when photosynthesis is completed. Like other ''Parakeelya'' with CAM, ''P. balonensis'' obtains most of its carbon through daytime photosynthesis, unlike some other well-known succulents such as cacti that may obtain most or all required carbon at night. ''P. balonensis'' has been classified as a “drought evader,” a short-lived plant that spends most of its life as a dormant seed or a small plant, until a large rainfall event triggers germination or growth, in contrast to “drought tolerators” which are perennial plants that can survive long periods without rainfall. In drier periods ''P. balonensis'' can grow as a small single rosette. After significant rainfall it rapidly develops from this single rosette to a large green mass of leaves and stems that can carpet the sandplains and dunes with massed, colourful displays. It tends to last longer than most arid or semi-arid zone annuals because of its ability to store water in its succulent leaves. ''P. balonensis'' may flower any month but is most commonly reported to do so in spring.


Uses

''P. balonensis'' was an important food for Aboriginal people in Central Australia.
Pitjantjatjara The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are v ...
people steam the leaves, roots and stems before eating, and would eat the succulent leaves raw for their moisture content in an emergency. The small black seeds can be ground into a paste that is rich in protein (14.6 percent) and fat (17 percent), but gathering the seeds in useful quantities is labour-intensive. The widespread use of ''P. balonensis'' is reflected in numerous terms for it in
Aboriginal languages Aboriginal language may refer to: * Indigenous language * Australian Aboriginal languages * Taiwanese aboriginal languages * Indigenous languages of the Americas The Indigenous languages of the Americas are the languages that were used by the ...
: *
Alyawarr The Alyawarre, also spelt Alyawarr and also known as the Iliaura, are an Aboriginal Australian people, or language group, from the Northern Territory. The Alyawarre are made up of roughly 1,200 associated peoples and actively engage in local tra ...
: ''alyemp-alyemp, lywemp-lywemp'' * Anmatyerr: ''arrwelty-arrwelty, lywemp'' *
Eastern Arrernte Arrernte or Aranda (; ), or sometimes referred to as Upper Arrernte (Upper Aranda), is a dialect cluster in the Arandic language group spoken in parts of the Northern Territory, Australia, by the Arrernte people. Other spelling variations are ...
: ''lyempe-lyempe, parrkelye'' *
Western Arrernte Arrernte or Aranda (; ), or sometimes referred to as Upper Arrernte (Upper Aranda), is a dialect cluster in the Arandic language group spoken in parts of the Northern Territory, Australia, by the Arrernte people. Other spelling variations are ...
: ''ilkngwalye'' *
Pintupi The Pintupi are an Australian Aboriginal group who are part of the Western Desert cultural group and whose traditional land is in the area west of Lake Macdonald and Lake Mackay in Western Australia. These people moved (or were moved) into th ...
: ''kumuḻ-kumuḻpa'' * Pitjanjatjara: ''nurngi, parkilypa, tjuṉngi'' * Warlpiri: ''parrkilyi, patanjarnngi'' ''P. balonensis'' leaves were also a food source for European settlers and explorers. Alice Duncan-Kemp, an author and Indigenous culture recorder, described ''P. balonensis'' as palatable when cooked and dressed with seasoning or white sauce. ''P. balonensis'' is considered a palatable and useful forage species for sheep and cattle. Some ''Parakeelya'' species have been reported to contain high levels of oxalic acid, but it is considered that none of the species, including ''P. balonensis,'' occur at such abundance as to cause problems for stock. ''P. balonensis'' has been classified as a preferred food source of feral camels in Central Australia.


Cultivation

A selection of this species, cv 'Mystique', has been registered and propagated as a clone. Like other ''Rumicastrum'' species, it is self-incompatible, and therefore does not set seed unless grown with other clones. It can be propagated by cuttings and the resulting plants flower prolifically, but they may be difficult to maintain for more than one year. Wild-type plants also make attractive garden plants, and if several clones are grown together, they interpollinate and set abundant seed. The seed germinates only sparsely without some form of scarification of the seed coat, but ~80% germination has been reported when the coat of the tiny seed is nicked with a scalpel, using a dissecting microscope.


References

{{Taxonbar, from1= Q17241951, from2=Q124259663, from3=Q5018519 balonensis Bushfood Caryophyllales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Endemic flora of Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1848 Taxa named by John Lindley