Lissanthe strigosa subsp. subulata

1 Peach Heath at Greenway, ACT

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Identification history

Lissanthe strigosa subsp. subulata	12 Aug 2018	michaelb
Lissanthe strigosa subsp. subulata	10 Aug 2018	michaelb
Unidentified	25 Jul 2018	michaelb

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User's notes

On the east side of the Murrumbidgee River, south of Pine Island.

16 comments

michaelb wrote:

26 Jul 2018

This plant looked like Lissanthe strigosa to me until I noticed the unusual fruits which I've never seen before.

michaelb wrote:

28 Jul 2018

The older fruits were quite woody.

Mike wrote:

28 Jul 2018

Could the fruits be galls?

michaelb wrote:

29 Jul 2018

At first I thought they might be galls but changed my mind - there are quite consistent and progressive shapes.

Illilanga wrote:

2 Aug 2018

I've been looking at my "heath" photos (still sorting to upload) and I have some with similar shapes at the end of the flowering season, as the flowers brown off. Mine aren't quite so "ball" like, still have the petals intact and it's not the same species based on the leaves but certainly similar.

michaelb wrote:

2 Aug 2018

Thanks, any lead would be of value.

rainer wrote:

10 Aug 2018

I’m confident in saying that these are not fruits. Lissanthe strigosa is commonly called Peach Heath for its peach-like fruits. They are about 3 mm in diameter but have a coloration like an unripened peach. Most tellingly, however, the fruit is covered by a downy bloom, just like the bloom that covers a peach. What we have in this photo is most likely some sort of insect-mediated damage, possibly a gall-like process.

michaelb wrote:

10 Aug 2018

Rainer.. I know what Lissanthe strigosa fruits look like, hence my hesitation. I will suggest it for the ID.

BettyDonWood wrote:

11 Aug 2018

I suspect it is a viral infection rather than galls.

rainer wrote:

11 Aug 2018

Betty and Don, it could be virus. One way to retell would be to cut one of the swellings open. A gall would have larvae.

michaelb wrote:

11 Aug 2018

I'm not that keen to go back and scramble over the boulders to find the specimen to check whether it is a virus or gall.

rainer wrote:

12 Aug 2018

I’d suggest an entomologist may help here. Try Kim Pullen or Roger Farrow. However, foliage and habitat a good fit for Lissanthe strigosa.

michaelb wrote:

12 Aug 2018

It had occurred to me to ask Roger or Kim, but Betty's assessment that it is a virus seems very likely. So I would rather not bother them with this question.

rainer wrote:

12 Aug 2018

Viruses too are usually, if not very often, transmitted to plants by sucking insects such as aphids, leafhoppers and other buds (Order Hemiptera).

michaelb wrote:

24 Aug 2018

I had an unexpected meeting with Rainer Rehwinkel at the site. The plant was easier to find than I expected and he assured me these unusual growths were galls. See the following sighting:
https://canberra.naturemapr.org/Community/Sightings/Details/3406940
We also noticed that other specimens of Lissanthe strigosa nearby had galls as well, but only one or a few, not the heavy infestation that this plant had. But it indicates that these galls are common in the local population at least.

rainer wrote:

24 Aug 2018

It was conclusively a case of galls, because each of the swellings had a minute hole in its side, where an insect, possibly a wasp, had emerged following its larval and pupal stages spent within the swelling.

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