Oreostylidium
| Oreostylidium | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Diagram from Mildbraed's monograph of Stylidiaceae in 1908 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Stylidiaceae |
| Subfamily: | Stylidioideae |
| Genus: |
Oreostylidium Berggr. 1878 |
| Species: | O. subulatum |
| Binomial name | |
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Oreostylidium subulatum Berggr. 1878 |
|
| Synonyms | |
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Stylidium subulatum Hook. 1864 |
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Stylidium subulatum Hook. 1864
Oreostylidium affine Colenso 1887
Oreostylidium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Stylidiaceae with a single species, Oreostylidium subulatum, that is endemic to New Zealand. O. subulatum is a very small plant with small, white flowers. It has a complicated botanical history that has led to a few proposals to move Oreostylidium to the related genus Stylidium. The researchers cite molecular data and suspect that this species is an extreme example of floral paedomorphosis. This would not be an unprecedented move since the single species was initially described as Stylidium subulatum in 1864 and later moved to its own genus by Sven Berggren in 1878. It possesses the same kind of glandular trichomes underneath the flower that make Stylidium species carnivorous plants, but it has not yet been tested for the presence of digestive enzymes.
Oreostylidium subulatum is a very small, cæspitose, and densely tufted plant about 2-3 cm tall. The 2 cm long linear-subulate leaves form a basal rosette close to the ground. The leaves are glabrous with entire margins. The scape, arising from the rosette of leaves, is slender, erect, and about 2 cm tall. The scape, like most species in the related genus Stylidium is covered with glandular trichomes. Each scape produces a single flower. The calyx is erect, stout, and very broad (nearly as broad as the ovary). The ovary is large, oblong, sub-cylindrical, tapering and jointed on to scape.
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