Metrosideros vitiensis
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{speciesbox
|image =
|image_caption =
|genus = Metrosideros
|species = vitiensis
|authority = (A.Gray) Villon (2015)
|synonyms=
- Metrosideros collina var. vitiensis {{small|A.Gray (1854)}}
- Metrosideros collina var. fruticosa {{small|J.W.Moore (1963)}}
- Tristania vitiensis {{small|A.C.Sm. (1936)}}
|synonyms_ref = [https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77161753-1 Metrosideros vitiensis (A.Gray) Pillon]. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
}}
Metrosideros vitiensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is a shrub or tree native to Vanuatu, Fiji, and the Samoan Islands.
Taxonomy
Metrosideros vitiensis was formerly included within M. collina. A phylogenetic study, published in 2015 by Pillon et al., found that M. collina comprised two genetically distinct groups. The populations in Vanuatu, Fiji, and the Samoan Islands were recognized as a distinct species, M. vitiensis, while the populations in the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, and Pitcairn Islands remained in M. collina.Pillon, Y., Lucas, E., Johansen, J. B., Sakishima, T., Hall, B., Geib, S. M., & Stacy, E. A. (2015). An Expanded Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) to Include Carpolepis and Tepualia Based on Nuclear Genes. Systematic Botany, 40(3), 782–790. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24546499
Habitat
On the larger Fijian islands, Metrosideros vitiensis is a characteristic tree in montane rain forests on windy slopes from 400 to 600 meters elevation. It is a common canopy tree in the low, stunted forest, with the associated trees Agathis vitiensis, Podocarpus spp., Calophyllum vitiense, Endospermum macrophyllum, Myristica castaneifolia, and Didymocheton spp.{{WWF ecoregion|name=Fiji tropical moist forests|id=oc0105}}
In the Samoan Islands, M. vitiensis is a common tree on upland lava flows.{{WWF ecoregion|id=oc0112|name=Samoa tropical moist forests|accessdate=15 April 2023}}
References
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