Discaria
Genus of flowering plants
Discaria is a genus of 6 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere, in Australia, New Zealand and South America.
They are deciduous thorny shrubs or small trees growing to 2-5 m tall. They are also non-legume nitrogen fixers.
Many of the world's Discaria species qualify as xerophytes 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 from the atmosphere with the help of symbiotic bacteria (Frankia) that form nodules in their roots.
01Taxonomy
Species
Discaria comprises the following species:
- Discaria americana Gillies & Hook.
- Discaria articulata (Phil.) Miers
- Discaria chacaye (G.Don) Tortosa
- Discaria nitida Tortosa
- Discaria pubescens (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.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Discaria”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Discaria chacaye 2.jpg by Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0
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