Eidothea
Encyclopedia
Eidothea is a genus
of two species
of rainforest
tree in New South Wales
and Queensland
in eastern Australia, which belongs to the plant family Proteaceae
, which also includes more familiar members such as the waratahs, grevillea
s, banksia
s, macadamia
s and protea
s. The genus is named after Eidothea, one of the three daughters of Proteus
in Greek Mythology.
Fossil seeds named Xylocaryon lockii by the German-Australian botanist Ferdinand von Mueller
in 1883 and found in Miocene
age sediments excavated in old gold mining sites in Victoria
match those of Eidothea, and are thought to represent the modern plant.
That Eidothea has been found at localities as far apart as Cairns and Lismore
, and as a fossil from much further south, underlines the fact that Australia’s rainforests are tiny remnants of ancient rainforests that covered vast areas of Australia until only a few million years ago. This makes them a particularly precious part of Australia's natural heritage.
was still in one piece. Gondwana consisted of what are now the continents of Australia
, Africa
, South America
and Antarctica, as well as smaller bits and pieces such as New Zealand
, New Caledonia
and Madagascar
. Gondwana began splitting up over 120 million years ago and the fragments carried a diverse array of plants and animals with them, including a variety of lineages of the Proteaceae. Eidothea is the only relic of one of those early lineages that has barely survived in the rainforests of eastern Australia. Other lineages went on to diversify spectacularly, resulting in hundreds of descendant species.
Eidothea lies within the subfamily Proteoideae
, which contain such plants as Protea
, Leucadendron
, Leucospermum
, and most other South African Proteaceae, Isopogon
(Australian ‘drumsticks’), Adenanthos
(Australian jugflowers), Petrophile
(Australian ‘conesticks’), Conospermum
(Australian smoke-bushes).
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of two species
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 rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
tree in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
in eastern Australia, which belongs to the plant family Proteaceae
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
, which also includes more familiar members such as the waratahs, grevillea
Grevillea
Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae, native to Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Sulawesi. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville. The species range from prostrate shrubs less than 0.5 m tall to trees...
s, banksia
Banksia
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...
s, macadamia
Macadamia
Macadamia is a genus of nine species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, with a disjunct distribution native to eastern Australia , New Caledonia and Sulawesi in Indonesia ....
s and protea
Protea
Protea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes.-Etymology:...
s. The genus is named after Eidothea, one of the three daughters of Proteus
Proteus
In Greek mythology, Proteus is an early sea-god, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea", whose name suggests the "first" , as protogonos is the "primordial" or the "firstborn". He became the son of Poseidon in the Olympian theogony In Greek mythology, Proteus (Πρωτεύς)...
in Greek Mythology.
Fossil seeds named Xylocaryon lockii by the German-Australian botanist 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 1883 and found in Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
age sediments excavated in old gold mining sites in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
match those of Eidothea, and are thought to represent the modern plant.
That Eidothea has been found at localities as far apart as Cairns and Lismore
Lismore, New South Wales
Lismore is a subtropical town in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. Lismore is the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area. Lismore is a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State.-History:...
, and as a fossil from much further south, underlines the fact that Australia’s rainforests are tiny remnants of ancient rainforests that covered vast areas of Australia until only a few million years ago. This makes them a particularly precious part of Australia's natural heritage.
Taxonomy
The Proteaceae is a very old family of flowering plants that probably originated while the ancient supercontinent GondwanaGondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
was still in one piece. Gondwana consisted of what are now the continents of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and Antarctica, as well as smaller bits and pieces such as New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
and Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
. Gondwana began splitting up over 120 million years ago and the fragments carried a diverse array of plants and animals with them, including a variety of lineages of the Proteaceae. Eidothea is the only relic of one of those early lineages that has barely survived in the rainforests of eastern Australia. Other lineages went on to diversify spectacularly, resulting in hundreds of descendant species.
Eidothea lies within the subfamily Proteoideae
Proteoideae
Proteoideae is one of five subfamilies of the flowering plant family Proteaceae. The greatest diversity of Proteoideae is in Africa, but there are also many species in Australia; a few species occur in South America, New Caledonia, and elsewhere.-Taxonomy:...
, which contain such plants as Protea
Protea
Protea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes.-Etymology:...
, Leucadendron
Leucadendron
Leucadendron is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, endemic to South Africa, where they are a prominent part of the fynbos ecoregion and vegetation type.-Description:...
, Leucospermum
Leucospermum
Leucospermum is a genus of about 50 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, native to Zimbabwe and South Africa, where they occupy a variety of habitats, including scrub, forest, and mountain slopes.They are evergreen shrubs growing to 0.5-5 m tall...
, and most other South African Proteaceae, Isopogon
Isopogon
Isopogon is a genus of 35 species of mainly low-growing and prostrate perennial shrubs in the family Proteaceae endemic to Australia. They are found throughout Australia, though Western Australia has the greatest variety with 27 of the 35 species found there...
(Australian ‘drumsticks’), Adenanthos
Adenanthos
Adenanthos is an genus of Australian native shrubs in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. Variable in habit and leaf shape, it is the only Proteaceae genus in which solitary flowers is the norm. It was discovered in 1791, and formally published by Jacques Labillardière in 1805. There are now 33...
(Australian jugflowers), Petrophile
Petrophile
Petrophile is a genus of evergreen shrubs, in the protea family Proteaceae, which are endemic to Australia. Commonly known as Conebushes, they typically have prickly, divided foliage and produce prominently-displayed pink, yellow or cream flowers followed by grey, conical fruits...
(Australian ‘conesticks’), Conospermum
Conospermum
Conospermum is a genus of 53 species in the family Proteaceae endemic to Australia. They are fairly widespread over the continent. They aren't particularly well-known to horticulture but some of the New South Wales species are known as smoke bushes....
(Australian smoke-bushes).
Species
Two living species are known:- Eidothea hardenianaEidothea hardenianaEidothea hardeniana, commonly known as the Nightcap Oak, is a tree to 40 m tall in the family Proteaceae discovered as a new species in 2000 by botanist Robert Kooyman. The species is listed as Critically Endangered on the Australian Commonwealth EPBC Act and Endangered on the NSW Threatened...
- is listed as an endangered species on Schedule 1 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act, 1995 and is known to occur in Nightcap National ParkNightcap National ParkNightcap National Park is in New South Wales, Australia, 35 km north of Lismore. It is classed by the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas as Category II...
and in the adjacent Whian Whian State Forest.
- Eidothea zoexylocaryaEidothea zoexylocaryaEidothea zoexylocarya is a tree in the family Proteaceae described by A.W.Douglas and B.Hyland in 1995. It was the first Eidothea to be discovered, on the slopes of Mount Bartle Frere, the biggest mountain of Queensland. Its name refers to the almost identical fossil fruit Xylocaryon lockii F. Muell...
- known from the slopes of Mount Bartle FrereMount Bartle FrereMount Bartle Frere is the highest mountain in Queensland at an elevation of 1622 metres. The mountain was named after Sir Henry Bartle Frere, a British colonial administrator and then president of the Royal Geographical Society by George Elphinstone Dalrymple in 1873. Bartle Frere was British...
and nearby mountains, near Cairns in North Queensland.