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Metrosideros vitiensis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Metrosideros vitiensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Metrosideros
Species:
M. vitiensis
Binomial name
Metrosideros vitiensis
(A.Gray) Villon (2015)
Synonyms[1]
  • Metrosideros collina var. vitiensis A.Gray (1854)
  • Metrosideros collina var. fruticosa J.W.Moore (1963)
  • Tristania vitiensis A.C.Sm. (1936)

Metrosideros vitiensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is a shrub or tree native to Vanuatu, Fiji, and the Samoan Islands.[1]

Taxonomy

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Metrosideros vitiensis was formerly included within M. collina. A phylogenetic study, published in 2015 by Pillon et al., found that M. collina comprised two genetically distinct groups. The populations in Vanuatu, Fiji, and the Samoan Islands were recognized as a distinct species, M. vitiensis, while the populations in the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, and Pitcairn Islands remained in M. collina.[2]

Habitat

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On the larger Fijian islands, Metrosideros vitiensis is a characteristic tree in montane rain forests on windy slopes from 400 to 600 meters elevation. It is a common canopy tree in the low, stunted forest, with the associated trees Agathis vitiensis, Podocarpus spp., Calophyllum vitiense, Endospermum macrophyllum, Myristica castaneifolia, and Didymocheton spp.[3]

In the Samoan Islands, M. vitiensis is a common tree on upland lava flows.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Metrosideros vitiensis (A.Gray) Pillon. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  2. ^ Pillon, Y., Lucas, E., Johansen, J. B., Sakishima, T., Hall, B., Geib, S. M., & Stacy, E. A. (2015). An Expanded Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) to Include Carpolepis and Tepualia Based on Nuclear Genes. Systematic Botany, 40(3), 782–790. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24546499
  3. ^ "Fiji tropical moist forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  4. ^ "Samoa tropical moist forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 15 April 2023.