Daviesia elliptica Crisp (1991a: 279)

Crisp, Michael D., Cayzer, Lindy, Chandler, Gregory T. & Cook, Lyn G., 2017, A monograph of Daviesia (Mirbelieae, Faboideae, Fabaceae), Phytotaxa 300 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

50. Daviesia elliptica Crisp (1991a: 279) , Crisp (2002: 525). Type: New South Wales, Northern Tablelands, ca. 30 km NNE of Tenterfield, M.D. Crisp 7290 & I.R. Telford, 28 September 1984. Holotype: CBG; isotypes: BRI, K, MEL, NSW

Daviesia latifolia Brown (1811: 20) var. parvifolia Bentham (1864: 76) . Type: All three type specimens are mounted on a single sheet in K. Lectotype ( Crisp 1991a: 279): Clarence River, Beckler (K). Syntype: native of high hills bordering Bathurst plains, Fraser 160 (K). Syntype: (excluded): Avon Ranges, F. Mueller (K)—this specimen appears to be a hybrid, D. buxifolia × D. mimosoides .

120 • Phytotaxa 300 (1) © 2017 Magnolia Press

CRISP ET AL.

A MONOGRAPH OF DAVIESIA

Phytotaxa 300 (1) © 2017 Magnolia Press • 121 Open, multi-stemmed shrubs, with gracefully arching to weeping branches, 1–1.5(–2) m tall, glabrous. Root anatomy normal (unistelar). Branchlets angular, ribbed. Phyllodes rather crowded, ascending to reclinate (sometimes recurved), elliptic, occasionally narrow, flat or undulate, rounded to acute at apex, shallowly crenate, cuneate or rounded at the articulate base, 6–50 × 3–25 mm, glossy green; venation pinnate, usually conspicuous but scarcely prominent. Unit inflorescences 1(2) per axil, corymbiform, 4–10-flowered; peduncle 3.5–15 mm long; rachis 1.5–10 mm long; subtending bracts appressed, subulate, with incurved margins, 0.8–1.4 mm long. Pedicels 1–4 mm long. Calyx 3–3.5 mm long including the 1–1.5 mm receptacle; upper 2 lobes united into a truncate or obtuse, scarcely notched lip, ca. 1.5 mm long; lower 3 lobes shallowly triangular, ca. 0.5 mm long, thickened and darkened at apices. Corolla : standard strongly reflexed, very broadly ovate, emarginate, ca. 7 × 7.5 mm including the ca. 1.5 mm claw, yellow infused with dark red or maroon around a strongly bilobed richly yellow centre; wings narrowly obovate, rounded and incurved at apex but not overlapping, auriculate, ca. 7 × 2.5 mm including the ca. 2 mm claw, maroon towards base, yellow at margins and apex; keel half depressed-obovate, falcate, acute, auriculate, saccate, ca. 5 × 2.5 mm including the ca. 2 mm claw, very dark red. Stamens strongly dimorphic: inner whorl of 5 with longer, subterete filaments and compressed globose, versatile anthers with confluent thecae; outer whorl of 5 with shorter, compressed filaments and compressed obloid, basifixed, 2-celled anthers; filaments free. Pod obliquely shallowly to very broadly obtriangular, acute or obtuse, compressed, 7–9 × 5–6 mm, smooth, glossy, light brown; upper suture strongly sigmoid; lower suture acute. Immature seed compressed ellipsoid, to 2.9 mm long, 1.9 mm broad, 0.6 mm thick, becoming red-brown; aril thick, dilated below hilum, ca. 1 mm long. ( Fig. 50 ).

Common name:— Wild Hops.

Flowering period:— September to November. Fruiting period: November and December.

Distribution:— Extends from Dalveen in the Granite Belt of far southern Queensland into the eastern half of New England in northern New South Wales, south to near Guyra.

Habitat:— Daviesia elliptica is restricted to a narrow belt along and near the eastern escarpment of the tablelands at moderately high elevations (800–1020 m), where it grows in sandy soils derived from granite. Associated vegetation is eucalypt forest with a sclerophyll shrub understorey.

Selected specimens (27 examined):— QUEENSLAND. Darling Downs: Dalveen , 28°29’S, 151°58’E, M . D. Crisp 7314 & I. R . Telford, 28 September 1984 ( BRI, CBG, MEL, NSW); Whisky Creek , 28°41’S, 151°55’E, M . D. Crisp 7322 & I. R . Telford , 28 September 1984 ( CBG); 1.6 km W of Cottonvale, 28°32’S, 151°57’E, K. A. W . Williams 75094, 7 October 1975 ( BRI) . NEW SOUTH WALES. Northern Tablelands: Anne River, Clarence River , 30°07’S, 151°53’E, Dr. Beckler ( MEL 79005 ); 20 km NE of Tenterfield, 28°55’S, 152°06’E, R. G . Coveny 5723 & N. S . Lander, 3 October 1974 ( BRI, NSW); Boonoo Boonoo , 28°53’S, 152°06’E, J. L . Boorman, November 1904 ( NSW 35243 ); Wilson’s Downfall , 28°43’S, 152°06’E, M . D. Crisp 7308, 28 September 1984 ( CBG, NSW); ca. 21 m E of Tenterfield, 2.3 km from Timbarra toward Poverty Point , 29°01’S, 152°14’E, M . D. Crisp 7341 & I. R . Telford, 29 September 1984 ( BRI, CBG, K, MEL, NSW); 38.5 km on Gwydir Hwy from Glen Innes towards Grafton , 1 km E of Timbarra River, 29°39’S, 152°03’E, M . D. Crisp 7362 & I. R . Telford, 29 September 1984 ( AD, CBG); Sugarloaf , 29°14’S, 151°45’E, M . Lavelle s.n., 9 October 1886 ( BRI 216455 ); base of Bluff , 29°10’S, 152°00’E, C . Stuart s.n. ( MEL 80874–5 ). CULTIVATED. Australian National Botanic Gardens, section 4, no. 8410621, M . D. Crisp 8254, 16 November 1988 ( CBG) .

Affinity:— Daviesia elliptica is most similar to D. buxifolia and is also closely related to D. mimosoides and D. latifolia ( Fig. 1A ). Daviesia buxifolia differs in having phyllodes that are ovate to orbicular, rather than elliptic, and at the base they are usually cordate, sometimes rounded, but never cuneate; also, the phyllodes are conspicuously crenulate, whereas those of D. elliptica are obscurely crenate. Daviesia mimosoides differs in its narrowly elliptic to linear phyllodes that are tapered to the base, dull to glaucescent and rarely obscurely crenate ( subsp. acris only). The peduncles of D. mimosoides are usually shorter than in D. elliptica , being less than 5 mm long. Daviesia latifolia has large (20–150 mm long), coarse, conspicuously reticulate, dull to glaucescent phyllodes that are acuminate or tapered to the apex, and racemes with numerous, evenly spaced flowers.

Economic uses:— Notes attached to a specimen (BRI 216455) suggest a variety of uses for this plant, comparable with those of D. mimosoides . Mr M. Lavelle, Licensed Surveyor at Camp Sugarloaf via Stanthorpe, Queensland, sent the following letter in 1886 to F. M. Bailey, the Queensland Colonial Botanist.

‘Dear sir,

‘I herewith forward a specimen of a shrub which grows here, and which is called here ‘Wild Hops’.

‘Horses are very fond of it, and sheep and cattle eat it. It keeps green all the year round, even in the driest season.

122 • Phytotaxa 300 (1) © 2017 Magnolia Press

CRISP ET AL.

The average height of the shrub varies from one to two feet; but some reach four feet. Old shepherds state that it makes good yeast, and that they have used it for years, but it makes the bread a little darker. For making beer they state that it is superior to hops.

‘Would you be good enough to let me know the proper name of this plant and if you think it of any value as fodder plant. The soil where this shrub grows varies from good loam to sandy loam, and the district is at an elevation of over 2000 feet above sea level.

‘Yours Faithfully,

M. Lavelle,

Licd. Surveyor.’

Hybrids:— Daviesia elliptica × D. latifolia , D. elliptica × D. latifolia × D. mimosoides , D. elliptica × mimosoides . Despite the diagnostic differences between the species, D. elliptica is known to hybridize with both D. latifolia and D. mimosoides . Daviesia buxifolia does not get the opportunity to hybridize with D. elliptica , despite the obvious similarities between these two species, because they are separated by a gap of several hundred kilometres.

Figures

FIGURE 1A. Phylogeny (part) of Daviesia estimated using maximum likelihood (PHYML) from concatenated sequences of ITS (nrDNA), and ndhF and trnL–trnF (cpDNA). The tree was rooted using the monotypic sister groups Viminaria and Erichsenia (not shown). The informal clade names are used for reference in the taxonomic treatment. Numbers on branches show non-bootstrap support. The tips are labelled with the taxon name and sample accession number.

FIGURE 50. Daviesia elliptica. A. Fruiting branchlet. B. Phyllode. C. Inflorescence. D. Flower. E. Calyx opened out, upper lobes at left. F. Standard. G. Wings. H. Keel. I. Same, opened out. J. Pod. K. Seed, lateral view. A, B from Crisp 8254; C–I from Crisp 7290 (holotype); J, K from Stuart s.n. (MEL 80874). Drawn by D. Fortescue. Adapted from Crisp (1991a) with permission from CSIRO Publishing.