Class
Order
Family
Classification
Subordinate Taxa
Nomenclature
Scientific Name:
Gaimardia Gaudich., Ann. Sci. Nat. (Paris) 5: 100 (1825)
Type Taxon:
Gaimardia australis Gaudich.
Etymology:
Description
Perennial, moss-like cushions. Leaves cauline, densely distichous along branching stems. Hermaphrodite. Leaf-sheaths scarious, auricles absent, ligulate. Leaf-lamina terete to channelled, surface papillate. Inflorescence a terminal spike of 2–3 alternating convolute, appressed bracts. Secondary hyaline floral scales, absent. Flowers 1 or 2/spike, bisexual. Androecium, stamens 2. Gynoecium a collateral bilocular ovary; styles 2. Fruit a bilocular capsule, each locule containing 1 seed. Seed dehiscing longitudinally via a line of weakness (dorsal slit).
Taxonomy
Moore & Edgar (1970) followed Eichler (1875) and Hamann (1962) in interpreting the reproductive structure of Gaimardia as a partial inflorescence composed of an aggregation of reduced male and female flowers (a pseudanthial hypothesis). However Sokoloff et al. (2009) provide compelling anatomical evidence of an euanthial interpretation, a perfect flower with a bilocular ovary and two stamens.
Distribution
New Zealand, Tasmania (Australia), New Guinea, Tierra del Fuego and Falkland Islands.
Biostatus
Indigenous (Non-endemic)
| Category | Number |
|---|---|
| Indigenous (Non-endemic) | 1 |
| Total | 1 |
Bibliography
Chanda, S. 1966: On the Pollen Morphology of the Centrolepidaceae, Restionaceae and Flagellariaceae, with Special Reference to Taxonomy. Grana Palynologica 6: 355–415.
Ding Hou 1957: Centrolepidaceae. In: Flora Malesiana, Series I. Vol. 5. 421–428.
Eichler, A.W. 1875: Blüthendiagramme. Vol. 1. Engelmann, Leipzig, Germany.
Ford, K.A. 2014: Centrolepidaceae. In: Breitwieser, I.; Brownsey, P.J.; Heenan, P.B.; Wilton, A.D. (ed.) Flora of New Zealand — Seed Plants. Fascicle 2. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln.
Gaudichaud-Beaupré, C. 1825: Rapport sur la Flore des îles Malouines. Annales des Sciences Naturelles 5: 89–110.
Hamann, U. 1962: Beitrag zur Embryologie der Centrolepidaceae mit Bemerkungen über den Bau der Blüten und Blütenstände und die systematische Stellung der Familie. Berichte der Deutschen Botanischen Gesellschaft 75: 153–171, 219.
Mabberley, D.J. 2008: Mabberley's plant book, a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. Edition 3. Cambridge University Press.
Moore, D.M. 1967: Chromosome Numbers of Falkland Islands Angiosperms. Bulletin, British Antarctic Survey 14: 69–82.
Royen, P.van 1979: The Alpine Flora of New Guinea. Volume 2, Taxonomic Part: Cupressaceae to Poaceae. Vaduz, J. Cramer.
Sokoloff, D.D.; Remizowa, M.V.; Linder, H.P.; Rudall, P.J. 2009: Morphology and development of the gynoecium in Centrolepidaceae: The most remarkable range of variation in Poales. American Journal of Botany 96: 1925–1940.
