Eustrephus

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales

Familia: Asparagaceae
Subfamilia: Lomandroideae
Genus: Eustrephus
Species: E. latifolius
Name

Eustrephus R.Br., Bot. Mag. 31: t. 1245 (1809)

Type species: E. latifolius R.Br.

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Spiranthera Raf., Fl. Tellur. 4: 31 (1838)

References

Brown, R. (1809) Botanical Magazine 31: t. 1245. BHL
Govaerts, R. et al. 2015. Eustrephus in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2015 Sept. 22. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2015. Eustrephus. Published online. Accessed: Sept. 22 2015.
Tropicos.org 2015. Eustrephus. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 22 Sept. 2015.

Eustrephus is a monotypic genus in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Lomandroideae.[1][3]

Eustrephus latifolius, commonly named wombat berry, is the sole species of evergreen vines which grow naturally in Malesia, the Pacific Islands and eastern Australia. They grow in sclerophyll forest, woodland, heathlands, shrublands, gallery forest and on the margins of and in rainforests.[4][5]

They have leaves with lamina variable in shape, elliptic to linear, 3–10 cm (1.2–3.9 in) long and 3–35 mm (0.12–1.38 in) wide. All leaf veins are equally distinct. Flowers are pink to mauve or white. The yellow-orange, globose, capsules of 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) diameter contain numerous black seeds set in a white aril.[5] The variation in the shapes of the leaves has resulted in the creation of numerous infraspecific taxa over the years, none of which are recognised by most present-day systematists.[2]

Uses

The tubers are eaten baked, and have an earthy sweet flavour.[6]

The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia’ records that Eustrephus latifolius is a "climber produces sweet though only small tubers, which, however, are probably capable of enlargement through culture (Mueller)."[7]
References

"Eustrephus%". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS) database (listing by % wildcard matching of all taxa relevant to Australia). Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
Laferrière, Joseph E. (1995). "Nomenclature and type specimens in Eustrephus R.Br. and Geitonoplesium Hook. (Geitonoplesiaceae)". Austrobaileya. 4 (3): 391–399. JSTOR 41738875.
Chase, M. W.; Reveal, J. L. & Fay, M. F. (2009). "A subfamilial classification for the expanded asparagalean families Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae and Xanthorrhoeaceae". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 132–136. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00999.x.
F.A.Zich; B.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan. "Eustrephus latifolius". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants (RFK8). Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
Harden, Gwen J. (2001). "Eustrephus latifolius R.Br. ex Ker Gawl. – New South Wales Flora Online". PlantNET – The Plant Information Network System. 2.0. Sydney, Australia: The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
Low, Tim (1991). Wild food plants of Australia (revised ed.). North Ryde, N.S.W.: Angus & Robertson. ISBN 9780207169304.
J. H. Maiden (1889). The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania. Turner and Henderson, Sydney.