Astroloma humifusum

Astroloma humifusum, commonly known as the native cranberry or cranberry heath, is a small prostrate shrub or groundcover in the heath family Ericaceae. The species is endemic to south-eastern Australia.[1]

Astroloma humifusum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Astroloma
Species:
A. humifusum
Binomial name
Astroloma humifusum
Synonyms

Ventenatia humifusa Cav.
Astroloma denticulatum R.Br.

Description

Astroloma humifusum grows as a spreading mat-like shrub up to 50 cm (20 in) high and 0.5 to 1.5 m (20 in to 5 ft) across.[2] Its hairy stems bear blue-green pine-like acute leaves 0.5-1.2 cm (0.2-0.5 in) long. The tubular flowers are up to 2 cm (0.8 in) long and appear from February to June, and are all red, unlike the red and green flowers of A. pinifolium. Flowers are followed by green globular berries around 0.4-0.6 cm (0.2 in) in diameter, which become reddish as they ripen.[3]

Taxonomy

Astroloma humifusum was initially described as Ventenatia humifusa by Spanish botanist Antonio José Cavanilles in 1797,[4] before being given its current binomial name by prolific Scottish botanist Robert Brown in his 1810 work Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae.

Brown also described a second species, Astroloma denticulatum, based on plant material that he had collected at Memory Cove in South Australia. It was later treated as a subspecies of A. humifusum (A. humifusum var. denticulatum), but is currently treated as a synonym of A. humifusum.[5][6]

In Western Australia, the name Astroloma humifusum has been misapplied to Astroloma prostratum.[7]

Styphelia humifusa is a name found in literature. Some authorities regard it as a synonym for Astroloma humifusum.[8]

Common names

Common names include cranberry heath and native cranberry,[1] as the fruit were eaten by early settlers.[2] An old name is juniper-leaved astroloma.[9] Common nineteenth century names were "Native Cranberries" and "Ground Berry".[10]

Distribution and habitat

The range is in southeastern Australia, from Newcastle in the north in eastern and central New South Wales, into Victoria, south-eastern South Australia and Tasmania.[3][11][12] It is generally found in open woodland, both on sandstone and clay soils,[3] as well as upland bogs. Associated plant species include Eucalyptus fibrosa, Eucalyptus sideroxylon, and Kunzea ambigua.[13]

Ecology

The eastern bettong (Bettongia gaimardi) eats the fruit.[14]

Uses

Requiring good drainage in the garden, Astroloma humifusum can be grown in rockeries.[15] The juicy berries are edible, although they are mostly made up of a large seed. They can be used to make jams or preserves.[2] The flavour of the berries has been described as "sickly sweet".[9]

The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that "The fruits of these dwarf shrubs have a viscid sweetish pulp, with a relatively large stone. The pulp is described by some as being "apple flavoured..."[10]

References
  1. "Astroloma humifusum (Cav.) R. Br". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  2. Elliot, Rodger W.; Jones, David L.; Blake, Trevor (1985). Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation: Vol. 2. Port Melbourne: Lothian Press. p. 248. ISBN 0-85091-143-5.
  3. Fairley A, Moore P (2000). Native Plants of the Sydney District: An Identification Guide (2nd ed.). Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 87. ISBN 0-7318-1031-7.
  4. "Ventenatia humifusa Cav". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  5. "Astroloma denticulatum". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  6. "Type of Astroloma denticulatum R.Br. [family EPACRIDACEAE]". JSTOR Global Plants. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  7. "Name Currency Astroloma humifusum (Cav.)R.Br". FloraBase. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  8. "Styphelia humifusa". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – via The Plant List.
  9. Bennett, George (1860). Gatherings of a naturalist in Australasia: being observations principally on the animal and vegetable productions of New South Wales, New Zealand, and some of the austral islands. John Van Voorst. pp. 370. astroloma humifusum.
  10. J. H. Maiden (1889). The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania. Turner and Henderson, Sydney. p. 8
  11. J. M. Powell. "New South Wales Flora Online: Astroloma humifusum". Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.
  12. "Astroloma humifusum". Electronic Flora of South Australia Fact Sheet. State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  13. Benson, Doug; McDougall, Lyn (1995). "Ecology of Sydney Plants 3: families Cabombaceae to Eupomatiaceae" (PDF). Cunninghamia. 4 (2): 217–429. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  14. Hume, Ian D. (1999). Marsupial nutrition. Cambridge University Press. p. 319. ISBN 9780521595551.
  15. Gray, Marilyn (2010). "Astroloma humifusum". Archived from the original on 29 March 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
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