''Triplarina'' is a genus of seven species of flowering plants in the family

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...

. They are ''

Baeckea ''Baeckea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, all but one endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus ''Baeckea'' are shrubs or small trees with leaves arranged in opposite pairs, white to deep pink flowers with five s ...

''-like shrubs with small leaves arranged in opposite pairs and flowers with five

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s, five more or less round petals, and fourteen to eighteen

stamen 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 filament ...

s that are shorter than the petals. Species of ''Triplarina'' occur in New South Wales and Queensland usually growing in woodland or forest.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Triplarina'' are shrubs with small leaves arranged in opposite pairs, sometimes with wavy or finely-toothed edges, and oil-dots visible on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils, sometimes in pairs and the flowers have five sepals, five petals and fourteen to eighteen stamens. The sepals remain attached to the fruit but the petals that are white to deep pink and more or less round are lost as the fruit develops. The

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

is half- inferior and has three

locule A locule (: locules) or loculus (; : loculi) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usually refers to a chamber within an ovary ...

s, each containing eight to thirteen

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the sporangium, megasporangium), ...

s, and the fruit is a capsule containing kidney-shaped seeds.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Triplarina'' was first formally described in 1838 by

Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; 22 October 178318 September 1840) was a French early 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ult ...

in his book ''Sylva Telluriana''. The first species he described was ''T. camphorata'', now known as '' Triplarina imbricata''.

Species list

The names of seven species of ''Triplarina'' are accepted at 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 ...

: *'' Triplarina bancroftii''

A.R.Bean Anthony Russell Bean (born 1957) is an Australian botanist who works at the Queensland Herbarium and Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha. Since 1982, he has led the Eucalyptus Study Group of the Society for Growing Australian Plants. Caree ...

(Qld.) *'' Triplarina calophylla'' A.R.Bean (Qld.) *'' Triplarina imbricata'' (

Sm. Sir James Edward Smith (2 December 1759 – 17 March 1828) was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society. Early life and education Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He started studying botan ...

) A.R.Bean (N.S.W.) *'' Triplarina nitchaga'' A.R.Bean (Qld.) *'' Triplarina nowraensis'' A.R.Bean (N.S.W.) *'' Triplarina paludosa'' A.R.Bean (Qld.) *'' Triplarina volcanica'' A.R.Bean (Qld.) **''Triplarina volcanica'' subsp. ''borealis'' A.R.Bean **''Triplarina volcanica'' A.R.Bean subsp. ''volcanica''

Distribution and habitat

Shrubs in the genus ''Triplarina'' usually grow in woodland or forest, rarely in heath, and are mostly found in small, isolated populations in sheltered positions near the coast, although '' T. paludosa'' grows on tablelands from the coast. They occur from near

Ravenshoe Ravenshoe ( ) is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Ravenshoe had a population of 1,332 people. Geography Ravenshoe is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is ...

in Queensland to near

Nowra Nowra () is a city in the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated po ...

in New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7843314 Myrtaceae genera Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Endemic flora of Australia