Byblis aquatica

Byblis aquatica (*)

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Lamiales

Familia: Byblidaceae
Genus: Byblis
Species: Byblis aquatica
Name

Byblis aquatica Lowrie & Conran, 1998
Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Australasia
Regional: Australia
Australia (Northern Territory)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Lowrie, A. & Conran, J.G., 1998. Nuytsia; Bulletin of the Western Australian Herbarium. South Perth, W.A. 12:62.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Byblis aquatica in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jul. 14. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Byblis aquatica in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jul 14. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Byblis aquatica. Published online. Accessed: Jul 14 2019.
The Plant List 2013. Byblis aquatica in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jul 14.
Tropicos.org 2019. Byblis aquatica. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jul 14.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Byblis aquatica in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names

Byblis aquatica is an insectivorous plant belonging to the genus Byblis, commonly known as the rainbow plants. It was described by Allen Lowrie and John Godfrey Conran in 1998, assigned to a group of annual north Australian species known as the "Byblis liniflora complex". It grows in semi-aquatic conditions and uses stalked mucilaginous glands (similar to those employed by the unrelated sundews and Drosophyllum) covering its leaf surfaces to attract, catch, and digest insect prey to supplement the poor environmental nutrient supply.

Plant characteristics
Habit

Byblis aquatica is an annual plant with a usually unbranching central stem supported by fine, fibrous roots. The central stem can reach a length of 45 centimetres (18 in), although it is only able to support its own weight during early growth (<5 cm.). After that it leans on neighboring plants for support, eventually toppling and growing horizontally along the ground or water surface, with only the growth tip growing uprightly.
Leaves

The plant's leaves are 2–4 centimetres (0.79–1.57 in) long, highly filiform (elongated and narrow), round in cross-section and tapering at the end. Young leaves are bright green and grow uprightly; as they age, they darken to a maroon (color) and droop. The leaf surface is covered with stalked mucilaginous glands along its entire length. These serve not only to attract and trap insect prey, but also allow the plant to "hold on" to neighboring structures for support.
Flowers and fruit
Byblis aquatica flower

Byblis aqauatica flowers are born singly at the tip of 1.5–3-centimetre (0.59–1.18 in) stems similar in appearance to the leaves. These emerge from the leaf axes in mature plants. The five-petaled flowers deep purple flowers appear between January and May (during the Australian summer), although only a few at a time.
B. aquatica seed capsule

The generally glabrous, ovate sepals are 3–4 millimetres (0.12–0.16 in) long. The obovate petals are deep purple, 5–7 millimetres (0.20–0.28 in) long and up to 4.5 millimetres (0.18 in) wide, and have notched margins. The filaments are 2–2.5 millimetres (0.079–0.098 in) long, bearing 0.9–1.3-millimetre (0.035–0.051 in) anthers. The pistils are 2–2.5 mm long and bear a rough stigma.

Fertilized flowers mature to form a 5–10-millimetre (0.20–0.39 in) by 3–5-millimetre (0.12–0.20 in) egg-shaped, two-parted seed capsules. The dry capsule only opens after being soaked in water[1](see water dispersal). The black, 1–1.3-millimetre (0.039–0.051 in) long seeds are grooved lengthwise.
Distribution

This species has a very limited distribution in the Australian Northern Territory. It is endemic to the area between Darwin and Berry Springs, but is fairly common there. It grows in the loamy sand of seasonally flooded depressions and in the shallow margins of freshwater lagoons. Here it shares its habitat with B. liniflora. which is however native to dryer regions elsewhere.
Botanical history

Byblis aquatica was first collected by Allen Lowrie in April 1988. In cultivation it was taken for an ecotype of B. liniflora and assigned the name Byblis aff. liniflora "Darwin". It remained thus until Barry Meyers-Rice demonstrated evidence of the reproductive isolation of the species, at which Jan Flisek suggested the description of the taxa as a new species in 1996. Allen Lowrie did so as part of his revision of north Australian species in 1998.
References

D'amato, Peter (2013). The Savage Garden, revised. p. 231.

Lowrie, Allen and Conran, John G. 1998. A Taxonomic Revision Of The Genus Byblis (Byblidaceae) In Northern Australia. In: Nuytsia 12(1):59-74.
Conran, John G. and Lowrie, Allen. 1993. Byblis liniflora subsp. occidentalis (Byblidaceae), A New Subspecies From North-Western Australia. In: Austral. Syst. Bot. 6: 175-179.