Genus Leichhardtia in Tribe Marsdenieae
In botanical taxonomy, a genus (plural genera) is a rank used to group closely related species within a family. In the hierarchy, genus sits below family and above species.
Genera are defined by shared morphological, anatomical, and genetic characteristics (for example, features of flowers, fruits, seeds, or leaves) that indicate a close evolutionary relationship among the species they contain.
Each genus can include one or more species. Examples include Rosa (roses) and Solanum (nightshades, including tomato and eggplant).
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Genus Description
Suggest a correction!Leichhardtia (R.Br.) belongs to the subfamily Asclepiadoideae (Apocynaceae) and comprises about forty species. It is centered in Australia, with concentrations in the eastern and monsoon-influenced north, and occurs in New Guinea and Malesia. The type species is Leichhardtia australis R.Br. (POWO, 2024; WFO, 2024; Forster, 1995).
The genus is distinguished by twining, latex-bearing vines bearing opposite leaves that lack stipules, the blades often cordate to lanceolate and sometimes glaucous; indumentum ranges from glabrescent to velvety and may include colleters at the petiole apex. The inflorescences are thyrses or cymes, sometimes reduced to solitary flowers. Flowers are actinomorphic with five fused sepals and five corolla lobes; a fleshy corona usually forms a cup or ring often fused to the corolla tube, and the apex may bear a small lobe opposite each corona segment. The gynostegium is sessile to stipitate; pollinia are dorsally attached to the translators by slender caudicles, a profile consistent with Asclepiadoideae (Livshultz et al., 2018). The fruit is a paired follicle; each seed is obovoid and comose (Forster, 1995; Goyder et al., 2021).
Diversity peaks in Australia, with numerous local endemics in rainforest margins, sclerophyll woodlands, and coastal sand-dunes; several taxa occur from lowlands to mid-elevations across tropical savanna and monsoon woodland mosaics. New Guinean and Malesian species occupy comparable rainforest and secondary habitats (Forster, 1995; Goyder et al., 2021).
Pollination is commonly by moths in several Australian taxa, a syndrome frequently observed in Asclepiadoideae; seed dispersal is wind-mediated by the coma (Forster, 1995). Cytological work across Asclepiadoideae commonly reports x = 11, notably in Leichhardtia australis, indicating a base number that recurs in the subfamily (Jones & Smith, 1968; Livshultz et al., 2018).
Recent phylogenetic studies have reassigned Australian Marsdenia and related taxa to Leichhardtia, recognizing Leichhardtia as a well-supported clade defined by corona morphology and other floral traits (Livshultz et al., 2018; Goyder et al., 2021). Species formerly placed in Marsdenia sect. Breviflora and sect. Mollissima are included; Rauwenhoffia remains separate (Forster, 1995; Goyder et al., 2021). This recircumscription is accepted in major checklists (POWO, 2024; WFO, 2024).
Some Leichhardtia species are cultivated in horticulture and occasionally escape into disturbed sites, although most are of limited economic importance (Forster, 1995). Habitat loss and fragmentation are primary concerns for narrowly endemic taxa; targeted surveys and modern phylogenomic resolution of Malesian taxa remain research priorities (APG IV, 2016).
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Leichhardtia ambuntiensis ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia arachnoidea ((Schltr.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia araujacea ((F.Muell.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia archboldiana ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia arfakensis ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia argillicola ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia assimulata ((S.Moore) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia australis (R.Br.)
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Leichhardtia belensis ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia bilobata ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia bliriensis ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia brassii ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia brevifolia ((Benth.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia brevis ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia brunnea ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia carrii ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia connivens ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia coronata ((Benth.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia cremea ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia cymulosa ((Benth.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia destituta ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia dischidioides ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia divisicola ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia dognyensis ((Guillaumin) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia egregia ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia ericoides ((Schltr.) Bullock)
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Leichhardtia flavescens ((A.Cunn.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia flavida ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia fraseri ((Benth.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia glabrata ((Schltr.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia glandulifera ((C.T.White) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia globosa ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia gonoloboides ((Schltr.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia goromotoorum ((Gâteblé, Fleurot, Meve & Liede) Gâteblé, Fleurot, Meve & Liede)
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Leichhardtia grandis ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia guillauminiana ((P.T.Li) Gâteblé, Meve & Liede)
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Leichhardtia jensenii ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia kaalaensis ((Meve, Gâteblé & Liede) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia kebarensis ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia kempteriana ((Schltr.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia koniamboensis ((Guillaumin) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia kuniensis ((Meve, Gâteblé & Liede) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia lacicola ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia liisae ((J.B.Williams) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia lloydii ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia longiloba ((Benth.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia lorea ((S.Moore) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia lyonsioides ((Schltr.) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia mackeeorum ((Meve, Gâteblé & Liede) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia micradenia ((Benth.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia microlepis ((Benth.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia millariae ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia mira ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia neocaledonica ((Meve, Gâteblé & Liede) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia neomicrostoma ((Meve, Gâteblé & Liede) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia nigriflora ((Guillaumin) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia oubatchensis ((Schltr.) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia paludicola ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia papillosa ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia papuana ((P.Royen) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia parva ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia paulforsteri ((Meve, Gâteblé & Liede) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia poioensis ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia praestans ((Schltr.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia primulina ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia pumila ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia quadrata ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia racemosa ((F.Muell. ex Benth.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia rara ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia rostrata ((R.Br.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia spathulata ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia speciosa ((Baill.) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia suaveolens ((R.Br.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia subglobosa ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia torsiva ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia trilobata ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia tubulosa ((F.Muell.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia tumida ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia tylophoroides ((Schltr.) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia variabilis ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia variifolia ((Guillaumin) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)
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Leichhardtia velutina ((R.Br.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia venusta ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia viridiflora ((R.Br.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia volcanica ((P.I.Forst.) P.I.Forst.)
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Leichhardtia weari (Gâteblé, Meve & Liede)
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Leichhardtia weberlingiana ((Liede) Liede, Gâteblé & Meve)