Lissanthe strigosa subsp. subulata
1 Peach Heath at Greenway, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Lissanthe strigosa subsp. subulata | MichaelBedingfield | 12 Aug 2018 | |
| Lissanthe strigosa subsp. subulata | MichaelBedingfield | 10 Aug 2018 | |
| Unverified | MichaelBedingfield | 25 Jul 2018 |
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User's notes
On the east side of the Murrumbidgee River, south of Pine Island.
16 comments
26 Jul 2018
This plant looked like Lissanthe strigosa to me until I noticed the unusual fruits which I've never seen before.
29 Jul 2018
At first I thought they might be galls but changed my mind - there are quite consistent and progressive shapes.
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.
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.
10 Aug 2018
Rainer.. I know what Lissanthe strigosa fruits look like, hence my hesitation. I will suggest it for the ID.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.069086-35.435117
- Altitude 550.0m
- Maps Pine Island to Point Hut
- Places Greenway, ACT
Sighting information
- 3 Abundance
- 17 Jul 2018 05:48 PM Recorded on
- MichaelBedingfield Recorded by
- 30cm to 1 metre Plant height
Collections
- Illilanga flagged sightings MichaelBedingfield Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Lissanthe strigosa subsp. subulata Other Shrubs Plants
Species information
- Lissanthe strigosa subsp. subulata Scientific name
- Peach Heath Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 861m Recorded at altitude
Seasonal activity
-
In flower
JFMAMJJASOND
Record quality
Quality score
7 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes