Callerya megasperma
Encyclopedia
Callerya megasperma, also known as native wisteria, is a species
of vine
in the family
Fabaceae
native to eastern Australia. It was initially described as Wistaria megasperma by Ferdinand von Mueller
in 1859 from a specimen collected at the Richmond River. It was long known as Millettia megasperma, having been renamed by George Bentham
in his Flora Australiensis
in 1864. It was given its current binomial name in 1994 by A.M. Schot. Its species name is derived from the Ancient Greek
words megas "large" and sperma "seed", and refers to its large seeds.
It is a vigorous vine which can reach 20 m (65 ft) in length, with woody stems with flaky bark. It has pinnate (compound) leaves 15 to 30 cm (6-12 in) long, each one made up of 7 to 19 smaller shiny oblong-elliptic to obovate leaflets, which measure 4–10 cm (1.6–4 in) long and 2–3.5 cm (1.6–2.6 in) wide. Flowering is from July to October, the flowers growing on raceme
s 10 to 25 cm (4-10 in) long.
Callerya megasperma is found in southeastern Queensland and the northeastern corner of New South Wales south to the Richmond River. It grows in rainforest. It is a valuable indicator species as it often grows in association with the birdwing butterfly vine (Pararistolochia praevenosa
), one of the only food plants for the caterpillars of the rare Richmond Birdwing Butterfly (Ornithoptera richmondia
). Callerya megasperma itself is a food plant for the caterpillars of the pencilled blue (Candalides absimilis
) and narrow-banded awl (Hasora khoda
) butterflies.
It is an attractive garden plant, but grows very rapidly when young and needs ample room to grow and a structure which can bear its weight. It requires good drainage. It has been successfully cultivated in Melbourne, where it took 20 years to flower.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Fabaceae
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
native to eastern Australia. It was initially described as Wistaria megasperma by Ferdinand von Mueller
Ferdinand von Mueller
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, KCMG was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist.-Early life:...
in 1859 from a specimen collected at the Richmond River. It was long known as Millettia megasperma, having been renamed by George Bentham
George Bentham
George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
in his Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory, more commonly referred to as Flora Australiensis, and also known by its standard abbreviation Fl. Austral., is a seven-volume flora of Australia published between 1863 and 1878 by George Bentham, with the assistance of...
in 1864. It was given its current binomial name in 1994 by A.M. Schot. Its species name is derived from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words megas "large" and sperma "seed", and refers to its large seeds.
It is a vigorous vine which can reach 20 m (65 ft) in length, with woody stems with flaky bark. It has pinnate (compound) leaves 15 to 30 cm (6-12 in) long, each one made up of 7 to 19 smaller shiny oblong-elliptic to obovate leaflets, which measure 4–10 cm (1.6–4 in) long and 2–3.5 cm (1.6–2.6 in) wide. Flowering is from July to October, the flowers growing on raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s 10 to 25 cm (4-10 in) long.
Callerya megasperma is found in southeastern Queensland and the northeastern corner of New South Wales south to the Richmond River. It grows in rainforest. It is a valuable indicator species as it often grows in association with the birdwing butterfly vine (Pararistolochia praevenosa
Pararistolochia praevenosa
Pararistolochia praevenosa is an Australian vine in the Birthwort family. The Richmond Birdwing Butterfly Vine grows in subtropical rainforest in coastal areas north from Wollongbar, in far north eastern New South Wales and adjacent areas in south eastern Queensland. It has been recorded as far...
), one of the only food plants for the caterpillars of the rare Richmond Birdwing Butterfly (Ornithoptera richmondia
Ornithoptera richmondia
The Richmond Birdwing is a species of birdwing butterfly that is endemic to Australia. It is the second smallest of the birdwing species, the smallest being Ornithoptera meridionalis.-Distribution:...
). Callerya megasperma itself is a food plant for the caterpillars of the pencilled blue (Candalides absimilis
Candalides absimilis
The Pencilled Blue or Common Pencil-blue is a species of butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found along the east coast of Australia, including Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Victoria....
) and narrow-banded awl (Hasora khoda
Hasora khoda
Hasora khoda, commonly known as the Large Banded Awl, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae which is found in India, parts of Southeast Asia and Australia.- Range :...
) butterflies.
It is an attractive garden plant, but grows very rapidly when young and needs ample room to grow and a structure which can bear its weight. It requires good drainage. It has been successfully cultivated in Melbourne, where it took 20 years to flower.