Episode 1689
Dracophyllum fiordense
Sun, 2021-Dec-19 00:40 UTC
Length - 2:30
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.
The featured article for Sunday, 19 December 2021 is Dracophyllum fiordense.
Dracophyllum fiordense, commonly known as Fiordland grass tree, is a species of tree or shrub endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. In the heath family Ericaceae, it reaches a height of 1.5–5.0 metres (5–16 feet) and has tufts of long green leaves at the ends of its branches. Each leaf has a distinctive curled spiral tip. D. fiordense has a pyramid-shaped inflorescence (flower spike) hidden under each clump of leaves, with between 113 and 120 pink flowers on each spike, and later reddish-brown dry fruit; both are around just 2 by 2 mm. It inhabits shrubland, lowland and subalpine forests, and tussock grassland of mountain slopes, gullies, and ridges. Its range covers two main groups: one in Fiordland National Park, and one in the Mount Cook and Westland National Parks.
D. fiordense was first described by the New Zealand naturalist Walter Oliver in 1928 and placed by him in the subgenus Dracophyllum. A cladistic analysis using genetic sequencing was published in 2010 and revealed that D. fiordense is related to D. menziesii as Oliver had thought. Its conservation status was assessed in 2017 as "Declining". The kākāpō, a flightless bird, feeds on the bases of the leaves by making careful incisions in new shoots. D. fiordense is likely pollinated by insects and its seeds are later dispersed by the wind.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:40 UTC on Sunday, 19 December 2021.
For the full current version of the article, see Dracophyllum fiordense on Wikipedia.
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