Bursaria spinosa subsp. spinosa
Blackthorn, Boxthorn at Mount Majura
Identify this sighting
| Bursaria spinosa subsp. spinosa | abread111 | 20 Apr 2024 | |
| Bursaria spinosa | Tapirlord | 1 Mar 2024 | |
| Bursaria spinosa subsp. lasiophylla | Tapirlord | 1 Mar 2024 | |
| Bursaria spinosa subsp. lasiophylla | abread111 | 1 Mar 2024 |
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User's notes
6 of these in pink guards
12 comments
1 Mar 2024
@Tapirlord I think I made a mistake, I cannot see the hairs on the back of the leaves, can you?
So maybe it is subsp spinosa
Barbara
So maybe it is subsp spinosa
Barbara
1 Mar 2024
There isn't really enough detail in the images to be sure, I had assumed these were natural plants hence subsp lasiophylla; since this isn't the case let's leave it without the subsp ID
1 Mar 2024
PlantNet says lower surface of leaves ‘densely covered in dense hairs’ and to me this looks like grey underside unless you magnify it. So says a non-botanist. 🙂
2 Mar 2024
We (FoMM) don't know who has planted them and from where the seedlings were sourced. The species might well be the non-local Bursaria. According to the ACT Census of Vascular Plants there is one naturally occurring local Bursaria which is B. spinosa subsp. lasiophylla, Australian Blackthorn. See also discussion around Bursaria spinosa that FoMM planted by mistake - in this case the source was Greening Australia and they gave us Bursaria spinosa subsp. lasiophylla replacements.
13 Mar 2024
the grey underside visible in the second photo indicates the dense hair cover Mike refers to so I think / hope it is the local subsp.
I haven't found out yet who planted.
I haven't found out yet who planted.
20 Apr 2024
Sorry, I did check again and it is NOT the local subsp. No hairs on underside of leaves. Adding extra photo to show this.
23 Apr 2024
But the second photo seems to show the underside with hairs i.e. beige colour which would indicate lasiophylla. need to collect sample and I hope that ranger Riley who planted the Bursaria can confirm the species when he is back in Canberra.
23 Apr 2024
Wal, there are no hairs, I did collect a sample and looked under magnification. B.
24 Apr 2024
Flora of Australia says 'Very similar to Bursaria spinosa subsp. spinosa, but subsp. lasiophylla retains a more erect multi-stemmed shrubby form and most parts of these plants are heavily tomentose with persisting appressed white hairs, particularly the undersurfaces of the leaves. Bursaria spinosa subsp. spinosa is rapidly glabrescent. Both subspecies have tiny sepals and bracts ( < 2 mm long) that are rapidly shed as a unit at petal break, and the stands generally display a range of developmental stages from very juvenile to adult forms.' and 'The two subspecies are fairly easy to distinguish as the autonym, Bursaria spinosa subsp. spinosa is replaced by Bursaria subsp. lasiophylla on heavier clay soils at higher altitudes in tablelands and lower mountain ranges in south eastern Australia. Subsp, lasiophylla may represent a clinal form of the common glabrous subspecies.' For subsp. spinosa it says 'This subspecies is fairly easily distinguished as the rapidly glabrescent leaves are slightly longer and narrower and the petals are longer than those in subsp. lasiophylla.' Other sources distinguish by the size and shape of the leaves.
24 Apr 2024
thanks, Mike, the problem is these are small, planted relatively recently and some nurseries just sell B. spinosa without bothering about subsp. So no matter what ranger Riley says he planted, we need to be sure of the ID by looking. Previously The Fair planted what was supplied as B. spinosa subsp lasiophylla and found that some of them were B. spinosa subsp spinosa.
24 Apr 2024
okay Barb the apparent beige colour seems just to be just a light effect. Question is what to do. It is not desirable to grow non-locals which may or may not spread and hybridize with the locals. At our Fair project site we remove those that we can identify as B. spinosa subspecies spinosa that Greening Australia gave us by mistake. We may need to consult with an expert because these are PCS plantings; someone other than a volunteer need to convince PCS that planting of non-locals isn't a good idea...
Location information
- Coordinates 149.172005-35.231212
- Altitude 674.0m
- Places Watson, ACT
Sighting information
- 6 Abundance
- 1 Mar 2024 11:14 AM Recorded on
- abread111 Recorded by
- 30cm to 1 metre Plant height
- Yes Shrub(s) planted
Collections
- abread111 Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Bursaria spinosa subsp. spinosa Other Shrubs Plants
Species information
- Bursaria spinosa subsp. spinosa Scientific name
- Blackthorn, Boxthorn Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 901.55m Recorded at altitude
Seasonal activity
-
Was the plant in flower?
JFMAMJJASOND
Record quality
Quality score
6 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species