Styphelioideae

Fuchsia heath Epacris longiflora, copyright Tony Rodd.

Belongs within: Ericaceae.
Contains: Styphelieae, Richeeae.

The Styphelioideae are a clade of heath-like plants previously recognised as the family Epacridaceae but now regarded as a derived subgroup of the Ericaceae. Styphelioids are distinguished by their lignified leaf cells, known elsewhere among the Ericaceae only for the Lyonieae. In members of the tribes Styphelieae and Oligarrheneae within the Styphelioideae, the fruit is a drupe whereas in other tribes the fruit is a loculicidal capsule (Kron et al. 2002).

Characters (from Kron et al. 2002): Shrubs, small trees or climbers. Leaves evergreen, alternate, usually entire; veins often more or less palmate, parallel, or reduced to one. Leaf epidermal cells lignified; bracts and bracteoles scarious. Inflorescence variable, axillary or terminal. Flowers tetra- or pentamerous, actinomorphic. Calyx persistent; corolla persistent, sympetalous, usually tubular or campanulate, lobes small to large. Stamens 2, 4 or 5, usually epipetalous; anthers bisporangiate, inverting early in development, mostly monothecal, dehiscing by longitudinal slits, lacking a fibrous endothecium and disintegration tissue. Pollen in monads, tetrads, or shed as reduced tetrads with one or more cells aborting, without viscin threads. Ovary 1-11-locular, with axile or apical placentation, superior; style impressed or not; stigma capitate or lobed. Fruit drupaceous or a loculicidal capsule; seeds with variable testa; embryo with two cotyledons.

<==Styphelioideae [Epacridaceae, Epacridoideae]
    |  i. s.: Dulaurensia pulchra Reid 1930 CBH93
    |--Prionoteae KJ02
    |    |--Prionotes cerinthoides KJ02
    |    `--Lebetanthus KJ02
    |         |--L. americanus D03
    |         `--L. myrsinites KJ02
    `--+--Styphelieae KJ02
       |--Richeeae KJ02
       |--Oligarrheneae KJ02
       |    |--Oligarrhena micrantha KJ02
       |    `--Needhamiella pumilio KJ02
       |--Archeria Hooker 1844 KJ02, A61 [Archerieae]
       |    |--A. comberi KJ02
       |    |--A. racemosa Hooker 1864 A61 [=Epacris racemosa C06]
       |    `--A. traversii Hooker 1864 A61
       |         |--A. t. var. traversii A61
       |         `--A. t. var. australis Hooker 1867 A61
       |--Cosmelieae KJ02
       |    |--Cosmelia rubra KJ02
       |    |--Sprengelia KJ02
       |    |    |--S. incarnata KJ02
       |    |    `--S. monticola KJ02
       |    `--Andersonia KJ02
       |         |--A. caerulea GK00
       |         |--A. parvifolia OS04
       |         `--A. sprengelioides KJ02
       `--Epacrideae [Epacridinae] KJ02
            |--Rupicola sprengeloides KJ02
            |--Lysinema ciliatum KJ02
            |--Budawangia KJ02
            |--Woollsia pungens KJ02
            `--Epacris Cav. 1797 A61
                 |--E. alpina Hooker 1854 [incl. E. affinis Colenso 1888] A61
                 |--E. breviflora B00
                 |--E. calvertiana M87
                 |--E. crassifolia M87
                 |--E. impressa KJ02
                 |--E. longiflora KJ02
                 |--E. microphylla C08
                 |--E. obtusifolia H87a
                 |--E. paludosa B00
                 |--E. pauciflora Rich. 1832 A61
                 |    |--E. p. var. pauciflora A61
                 |    `--E. p. var. sinclairii (Hooker) Cheeseman 1906 [=E. sinclairii Hooker 1864] A61
                 |--E. petrophila B00
                 |--E. pulchella H87b
                 `--E. purpurascens H87b

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A61] Allan, H. H. 1961. Flora of New Zealand vol. 1. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledones. R. E. Owen, Government Printer: Wellington (New Zealand).

[B00] Braby, M. F. 2000. Butterflies of Australia: their identification, biology and distribution vol. 2. CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood (Victoria).

[C08] Cambage, R. H. 1908. Notes on the native flora of New South Wales. Part VI. Deepwater to Torrington and Emmaville. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 33 (1): 45–65, pls 1–2.

[C06] Cheeseman, T. F. 1906. Manual of the New Zealand Flora. John Mackay, Government Printer: Wellington.

[CBH93] Collinson, M. E., M. C. Boulter & P. L. Holmes. 1993. Magnoliophyta (‘Angiospermae’). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 809–841. Chapman & Hall: London.

[D03] Dusén, P. 1903. The vegetation of western Patagonia. In: Scott, W. B. (ed.) Reports of the Princeton University Expeditions to Patagonia, 1896–1899 vol. 8. Botany pp. 1–34. The University: Princeton (New Jersey).

[GK00] Gibson, N., & G. J. Keighery. 2000. Flora and vegetation of the Byenup-Muir reserve system, south-west Western Australia. CALMScience 3 (3): 323–402.

[H87a] Haviland, E. 1887a. Flowering seasons of Australian plants. No. I—List of plants indigenous in the neighbourhood of Sydney, flowering during July. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (4): 1049–1051.

[H87b] Haviland, E. 1887b. Flowering seasons of Australian plants. No. II. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (4): 1103–1104.

[KJ02] Kron, K. A., W. S. Judd, P. F. Stevens, D. M. Crayn, A. A. Anderberg, P. A. Gadek, C. J. Quinn & J. L. Luteyn. 2002. Phylogenetic classification of Ericaceae: molecular and morphological evidence. Botanical Review 68: 335–423.

[M87] Mueller, F. von. 1887. Some hitherto undescribed plants of New South Wales. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (4): 1105–1110.

[OS04] Obbens, F. J., & L. W. Sage. 2004. Vegetation and flora of a diverse upland remnant of the Western Australian wheatbelt (Nature Reserve A21064). Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 87 (1): 19–28.

Last updated: 22 April 2020.