Lycium australe
{{Short description|Species of plant}}
{{use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{speciesbox
|image = Lycium australe (7225537472).jpg
|genus = Lycium
|species = australe
|authority = F.Muell.
}}
Lycium australe, the Australian boxthorn, is a native Australian plant with large sharp woody spines, small leaves and very small berries. It is closely related to Lycium ferocissimum (African boxthorn), which is listed as an invasive weed in Australia, New Zealand and Cyprus.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gbif.org/species/3797394|title=Lycium ferocissimum Miers|website=www.gbif.org|language=en|access-date=2020-03-28}}
It is possible to differentiate between these two species using the following features:{{Cite web|url=https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/media/Html/lycium_ferocissimum.htm|website=keyserver.lucidcentral.org|title= Weeds of Australia: Lycium ferocissimum|publisher=Biosecurity Queensland Edition|access-date=2020-03-29}}
| class="wikitable"
|+ ! !L. ferocissimum !L. australe |
| Leaf length (mm)
|6 - 40 |3 - 25 |
| Leaf width (mm)
|2 - 20 |1.5 - 3 |
| Shape of berries
|Round |Ovoid |
| Width of berries (mm)
|5 - 10 |2 - 5 |
| Seeds per berry
|30 - 70 |5 - 20 |
Distribution
Lycium australe is endemic to the mainland of Australia, and is found in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.{{cite book|author=L.Haegi, R.W.Purdie |date=2020|chapter= Lycium australe|title=Flora of Australia|publisher= Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Canberra |chapter-url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Lycium%20australe|access-date= 29 March 2020}}
Habitat
Taxonomy and naming
The plant was first described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1859, and its specific epithet, australe, comes from the Latin adjective, australis, -is, -e, ("south/southern"), thus describing the plant as coming from the southern hemisphere.{{Cite web|url=http://www.plantillustrations.org/epithet.php?id_epithet=214182%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class=|title=australis,-is,-e|website=www.plantillustrations.org|access-date=2020-03-28}} It has no synonyms.{{Cite web|url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:816351-1|title=Lycium australe F.Muell. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science|website=Plants of the World Online|access-date=2020-03-28}}
References
External links
- [https://avh.ala.org.au/occurrences/search?taxa=Lycium+australe#tab_mapView Lycium australe occurrence data] from the Australasian Virtual Herbarium
- [https://www.gbif.org/species/3798360 GBIF:Lycium australe occurrence data & images]
- {{commonscat inline}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1878510}}
Category:Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller
Category:Plants described in 1859
Category:Flora of South Australia
Category:Flora of New South Wales
Category:Eudicots of Western Australia
Category:Flora of Victoria (state)
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