''Discaria'' is a genus of 6 species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the family

Rhamnaceae The Rhamnaceae are a large Family (biology), family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales. The family contains about 55 genera and 950 specie ...

, native to temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere, in

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 ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. They are

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

thorny

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s or small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s growing to 2–5 m tall. They are also non-legume nitrogen fixers. Many of the world's ''Discaria'' species qualify as

xerophyte A xerophyte () is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water. Examples of xerophytes include cacti, pineapple and some gymnosperm plants. The morphology and physiology of xerophytes are adapted to ...

s in the true sense of the term, and the Australian species are no exception. They frequently occur on porous or well-drained sites and on soils of low fertility. Some species can fix

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

from the atmosphere with the help of symbiotic bacteria (''

Frankia ''Frankia'' is a genus of nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in symbiosis with actinorhizal plants, similar to the '' Rhizobium'' bacteria found in the root nodules of legumes in the family Fabaceae. ''Frankia'' also initiate the forming of ro ...

'') that form nodules in their roots.

Taxonomy

Species

''Discaria'' comprises the following species: * '' Discaria americana'' Gillies & Hook. * '' Discaria articulata'' (Phil.) Miers * '' Discaria chacaye'' (G.Don) Tortosa * '' Discaria nitida'' Tortosa * ''

Discaria pubescens ''Discaria pubescens'', the hairy anchor plant or Australian anchor plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae. It is native to Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland in Australia Australia, officiall ...

'' (Brongn.) Druce * '' Discaria toumatou'' Raoul

Hybrids

The following hybrid has been described: * ''Discaria'' × ''serratifolia'' Benth. & Hook.f. ex Mast.

Species names with uncertain taxonomic status

The status of the following species and hybrids is unresolved: * ''Discaria'' × ''andina'' (Miers) Speg. * ''Discaria aphylla'' Meyen * ''Discaria parviflora'' Hook.f. * ''Discaria pauciflora'' Hook.f. * ''Discaria weddeliana'' (Miers) Escal.

References

External links

Rhamnaceae genera {{Rhamnaceae-stub