''Myoporum'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 figwort

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

, Scrophulariaceae (formerly placed in Myoporaceae). There are 30 species in the genus, eighteen of which are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

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 ...

although others are endemic to

Pacific Islands The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

, including

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 one is endemic to two

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

islands. They are shrubs or small trees with leaves that are arranged alternately and have white, occasionally pink flowers and a fruit that is a

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

Description

Plants in this genus are shrubs or small trees, mostly

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

with simple leaves that are arranged alternately and often lack a petiole (although the leaves often taper towards the base). The flowers are adapted for pollination by insects and have white, (sometimes pinkish)

petals Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''coroll ...

and usually 4

stamens The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

. The fruit is a

with its central seed surrounded by a hard

endocarp Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Fruitlike structures may develop directly from the seed itself rather th ...

and usually

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 ...

mesocarp.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Myoporum'' was first formally described in 1786 by

Georg Forster Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (; 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German geography, geographer, natural history, naturalist, ethnology, ethnologist, travel literature, travel writer, journalist and revol ...

, from an unpublished description by

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...

and

Daniel Solander Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander (19 February 1733 – 13 May 1782) was a Sweden, Swedish naturalist and an Apostles of Linnaeus, apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot o ...

. The name ''Myoporum'' is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''myo'' meaning "to close" or "to be shut" and ''poros'' meaning "pore", referring to the ability of (some) plants in this genus to exist in dry areas, or possibly to the appearance of the glands on the leaves. Recent molecular work into the Mypoporeae family seems to indicate that the genus ''Myoporum'' is nested within '' Eremophila'', and is thus

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

Distribution

There are 30 species in the genus, which is spread from

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, across

to the

. Eighteen species are endemic to Australia.

Ecology

'' Myoporum insulare'' is invasive in several African countries and in the western coastal areas of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

this species is known as manatoka. Some species, including ''M. insulare'' and ''M. laetum'' are known to be poisonous to stock.

Use in horticulture

''M. parvifolium'', ''M. floribundum'' and ''M. bateae'' are often cultivated as ornamentals, hedges or windbreaks. ''M. insulare'', ''M. montanum'', ''M. acuminatum'' and sometimes ''M. parvifolium'' are often used as rootstock for '' Eremophila'' species, especially those that are difficult to grow from cuttings or that are to be grown in heavier soils.

Species list

The following is a list of the species of ''Myoporum'' accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Sys ...

for Australian species and

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 ...

for others: *'' Myoporum acuminatum'' R.Br. – pointed boobialla (Australia) *'' Myoporum bateae'' F.Muell. (New South Wales) *'' Myoporum betcheanum'' L.S.Sm. – mountain boobialla (New South Wales, Queensland) *'' Myoporum boninense'' Koidz. (New South Wales, Queensland, Bonin to Mariana Islands) *'' Myoporum bontioides'' ( Siebold & Zucc.) A.Gray (south-east China to northern Vietnam, southern Japan to Taiwan) *'' Myoporum brevipes''

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

– pale myoporum (mainly South Australia) *''

Myoporum caprarioides ''Myoporum caprarioides'', commonly known as slender myoporum, is a plant in the figwort Family (biology), family, Scrophulariaceae. It is a shrub with wart-like tubercles covering its branches and leaves, especially on the upper surface and whit ...

'' Benth. – slender myoporum (Western Australia) *'' Myoporum cordifolium'' (F.Muell.) Druce – Jerramungup myoporum (Western Australia) *'' Myoporum crassifolium'' G.Forst. (

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

) *'' Myoporum cuneifolium'' Kraenzl. (New Caledonia) *'' Myoporum floribundum'' A.Cunn. ex Benth. – weeping boobialla (Australia: New South Wales, Victoria) *'' Myoporum insulare'' R.Br. – boobialla, blueberry tree (Australia) *'' Myoporum laetum'' G.Forst. – ngaio (New Zealand) *'' Myoporum mauritianum'' A.DC. (

and Rodrigues) *'' Myoporum montanum'' R.Br. – native myrtle (Australia) *'' Myoporum niueanum'' H.St.John (

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

) *'' Myoporum obscurum'' Endl. – bastard ironwood, popwood (

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

) *'' Myoporum oppositifolium'' R.Br. – twin-leaf myoporum (Western Australia) *'' Myoporum papuanum'' Kraenzl. (Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku, New Guinea) *'' Myoporum parvifolium'' R.Br. – creeping boobialla (Australia) *'' Myoporum petiolatum'' R.J.Chinnock – sticky boobialla (Australia: South Australia, Victoria) *'' Myoporum platycarpum'' R.Br. – sugarwood (Australia) *'' Myoporum rapense'' F.Br. (French Polynesia) *'' Myoporum rimatarense'' F.Br. (French Polynesia) *'' Myoporum rotundatum'' S.Moore (New Caledonia) *'' Myoporum sandwicense'' A.Gray – naio (Hawaii, Mangaia) *'' Myoporum semotum'' Heenan & de Lange (New Zealand) *'' Myoporum stellatum'' ( G.L.Webster) O.Deg. & I.Deg. (

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

) *'' Myoporum stokesii'' F.Br. (French Polynesia) *'' Myoporum tenuifolium'' G.Forst. (New Caledonia and

Loyalty Islands Loyalty Islands Province (, ) is one of the three top-level administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia. It encompasses the Loyalty Islands () archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, located northeast of the New Caledonian mainland of Grande Terre. ...

) *'' Myoporum tetrandrum'' ( Labill.) Domin boobialla (Australia) *'' Myoporum tubiflorum'' Kraenzl. (New Zealand) *'' Myoporum turbinatum'' R.J.Chinnock – salt myoporum (Western Australia) *'' Myoporum velutinum'' R.J.Chinnock (Western Australia) *'' Myoporum viscosum'' R.Br. – sticky boobialla (South Australia) *'' Myoporum wilderi'' Skottsb. (

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

)

Formerly placed here

*'' Eremophila debilis'' (Andrews) Chinnock (as ''M. debile'' (Andrews) R.Br.) *'' Eremophila deserti'' (A.Cunn. ex Benth.) Chinnock (as ''M. deserti'' A.Cunn. ex Benth.)

References

{{Authority control Scrophulariaceae genera Taxa named by Georg Forster